In a continuing education seminar conducted by the #EstatePlanningCouncilofCanada earlier this year, the presenter (@JeffBaxter) shared something so smart, so important, so obvious and yet so often overlooked that I immediately reframed how I think about estate planning:

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“Every security measure that keeps your information safe while you’re alive works to thwart your executor when you’re gone.” @JeffBaxter.

Think about that for a moment.

The very tools we rely on every day to protect our online presence, including: two-factor authentication, biometric logins, password managers, encrypted devices and secure cloud storage, can become barriers for the person responsible for settling our estate.

When I administered my parents' estates, they didn't have an online presence.  But today's reality means that many executors will not only have to contend with finding assets but with accessing them.

So, in an attempt to simplify things for your executor, have you considered the following?  

✔️ Is there a secure, up-to-date inventory of your financial and digital assets?

✔️ Does your executor know where to find your important documents?

✔️ Have you documented how your digital life should be accessed—without compromising your security today?

✔️ If you were asked to settle someone else’s estate tomorrow, would you know where to begin?

A good estate plan isn’t measured solely by how efficiently it transfers wealth.  It’s measured by how easy it makes the process for the people you’ve chosen to carry it out.  This is why we at @QWealthPartners have created an Estate Planning Inventory to help you catalogue your real and digital assets and intentions.

Because the greatest gift you can leave your family isn’t simply your wealth.

It’s removing unnecessary obstacles during one of the most difficult times of their lives.

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