The ICE Binder
Your "In Case of Emergency" Binder is designed to be an aid to your loved ones and caregivers in the event that you are unable to answer their questions. It will include instructions for your medical care in the event that you are incapacitated, as well as your estate planning documents, such as a trust, will, and power of attorney.
But what makes the "ICE Binder" different from the documents prepared by your attorney is that it goes beyond your estate plan, and into the nitty gritty of how to actually get everything done. This can include account passwords, as well as funerary preferences. It might also include instructions for your surviving spouse or next of kin on how to handle your financial assets after your passing.
Different levels of detail may be shared with different parties. You might, for instance, want everyone to know that your daughter Sally has health care and/or financial power of attorney, but you might not want to publish your entire net worth summary page for the whole family to see. Include that instruction on the summary page.
In assembling this binder, each major bullet point gets its own page or its own section, and the sub-bullet points refer to information to include under that heading. For instance, “Contact information for relevant professionals” will probably be one page, and will list names and contact information in a list format, and include the following people, and maybe some others if you think of them.
The idea is that this binder gives your spouse and next-of-kin everything they will need to handle the issues that come with your passing.
The components:
Summary
Estate Documents and instructions for access
Letters to loved ones
Estate Documents
Trust Documents
Pourover Will
Advanced Medical Directive and Living Will
Health Care Power of Attorney
HIPAA Authorization
Financial Power of Attorney
For each estate document,
Who prepared it and when?
Where is the original copy?
Who is the executor or trustee?
Who are the alternate executors or trustees?
Contact information for relevant professionals
Doctor/Hospice Worker
Financial Advisor
Estate Attorney
Accountant
Business Attorney
Funeral Home Coordinator
Contact information for key family members and friends
Identifying Documents
Birth Certificate
Driver’s License/Passport
Instructions for Care of Children
Are there any children you are responsible for caring for? This might apply mainly to the younger crowd, as well as any grandparents who have primary responsibility for the care of their grandchildren, foster kids, or any others
Who is instructed to care for them in your absence?
What financial resources are available to them? In what form (trust, etc)? How are those assets made available (lump sum, income, annual percentage, etc)?
If assets are left over after the child reaches the age of majority, when and how are those assets made available to the child, and for what?
Others Who Depend on You
Pets
Who has agreed to care for your pets in your absence?
What resources will be made available to them to cover the financial costs of doing so?
Family, friends, neighbors
What other people do you have responsibilities to? Is there an elderly neighbor you help drive to the grocery store each week? Have you discussed with this neighbor who they might rely on if you were unable to help them?
Financial Instructions for Surviving Spouse
What professionals can they reach out to for guidance going forward? Your financial advisor and your accountant are two good examples. Likewise any contact information for business partnerships or private investments.
What bills are paid regularly, and from which accounts?
When income is received, which accounts is it deposited in? What changes will occur when you are no longer around?
Are there large lump sum expenses to set aside money for?
Are there expenses that can be canceled once you are no longer around?
Funeral Preparations
Instructions for your remains
Procedure selected (organ/body donation, cremation, burial, niche in columbarium)
Casket/Urn choice, or price-range
If burial or columbarium, selection of location
If cremation, immediate or after ceremony
Preference for where to scatter ashes
Contact info of individuals or organizations responsible
Ceremony
Location/Contact Info
Public/Private?
Body Present? Open/Closed Casket
Type of Service (Religious, Military, Other)
Eulogy (name and contact information)
Music selections and musicians
Readings
Reception/Celebration of Life, if desired
Location/Contact Info
Public/Private
Photos
Food and Drink
Obituary
Name
Date, and Place of Birth
Surviving Spouse, Ex-Spouse (if desired)
Children, Siblings, Grandchildren, Nieces/Nephews
Hobbies, Employment, Personal Interests
Memberships/Communities
Values
Public/Private
Flowers, send to:
Or, “in lieu of flowers send donations to:______”
How to notify people, who and how to notify:
Organizations you’ve belonged to, such as:
Church groups
12 Step groups
Community organizations (Elks, Lions, Kiwanis…)
Key people and contact info for each area of your life
Family, extended family
Golf/Tennis clubs
Service groups
Regular meet-ups
Collectors clubs
Old friends from work
Friends from travel
Out of town friends
Social Media, if desired
Account Passwords, including
Computer passwords
Phone access code
Email password/access
Social media accounts
Netflix/Hulu/etc passwords
Safe Deposit Box Access
Financial assets and beneficiary information
Bank accounts
Account Title, Description
Institution and Contact Info
Account Number
Statement
Beneficiary
Brokerage accounts
Account Title, Description
Institution and Contact Info, Advisor Contact Info
Account Number
Statement
Beneficiary
Retirement accounts
Account Title, Description
Institution and Contact Info, Advisor Contact Info
Account Number
Statement
Beneficiary
Pensions and Annuities
Account Title, Description
Institution and Contact Info, Advisor Contact Info
Account Number
Statement
Beneficiary
Insurance Policies (Life Insurance, Disability Insurance, Long-Term Care Insurance, Umbrella Liability Insurance, Auto Insurance, Home Insurance, Health Insurance)
Account Title, Description
Institution and Contact Info, Advisor Contact Info
Account Number
Statement
Beneficiary
Property
Real Estate
Property title
Is it titled in your trust?
Current occupants and contact information
Instructions for care of property
Insurance Policies
Personal Property (such as furniture, kitchen wares, tools)
Are there specific pieces to leave to specific people, especially anything of sentimental value?
If assets are not sentimental, what plans or instructions can you share for an orderly liquidation?
Vehicles and RVs
Make, Model, Year, VIN
Any money owed, payments, and contact information
Location, and access instructions
Warranty information, instructions for care and maintenance
Any special instructions for sale or inheritance?
Insurance Policies
Collector’s items
Are there specific pieces to leave to specific people, especially anything of sentimental value?
If assets are not sentimental, what plans or instructions can you share for an orderly liquidation?
Insurance Policies
Debts
Auto loans
Copy of statement with contact information
Credit cards
Statement with information on how to pay it off. Be sure to discuss with your estate attorney what has to be paid off from funds in the estate
Mortgages
Copy of mortgage statement with property address, mortgage company contact information,
HELOCs and HECMs
Private Agreements
Creditor Name and Contact Info
Amount
Terms and Status
Copy of Agreement
Taxes
Accountant contact info
Location of tax returns
Copy of Recent Estate/Trust tax returns
Copy of Recent 1040 tax returns
Information for preparing your final tax return
Government Benefits (Social Security, PERS, Disability, Survivor’s Benefits)
Income (current or expected)
Program name and contact info
Account name and identification
Passwords
As you can see, this binder will contain a lot of sensitive personal and financial information. It is very important not to store this someplace where it can get stolen. At the same time, you want to make sure that it is reasonably accessible for updates, as well as to the executor of your estate.
Storing these documents:
Hard copies:
Password-protected thumb drive, and then keep the thumb drive in a safe.
Some estate attorneys and financial advisors will store copies of these documents for you at their office. Be sure to provide instructions on who has access to read these forms.
A safe deposit box at your local bank, with instructions on who has access, where to find the key, etc
Virtual copies: Some estate attorneys and financial advisors will have the means to store documents for you in the cloud. Make sure that the storage system is encrypted, password protected, and 2-Factor-Authentication protected. You can also store your own documents similarly, if you have the know-how.
I recommend that you keep both a hard copy and a digital copy so that your heirs/kids/executor will have guaranteed access.
Provide your executor/heirs with the contact info of whoever is storing these documents. Also make sure that they have the means to access the information.
Organizing These Documents:
I would use a series of folders (digital and physical), one for each of the above bullet points, all held inside one master folder (digital) or binder (physical).
One Last Note:
As onerous as it is to pull all this information together before your passing, think how much more onerous and exhausting it will be for those who are left behind. There are a lot of decisions to make. Rather than leave them to guess at what you would have wanted (and possibly sorting out disagreements and different recollections amongst themselves), you can give them complete certainty about what to do and how to do it. This is a tremendous gift to give to those you leave behind. Not only the freedom to grieve without the overhang of extra administrative stress, but the knowledge that they have done everything you would have wanted.
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