The “Green Box” is really a metaphor for a designated place to keep all your important planning documents so that people then know where to find the ‘box’ in the event of an emergency. In my business group, we actually purchased green file boxes to gather the documents below. Don’t be intimidated by this list of documents! It doesn’t have to happen all at once; you can chip away at this over time. I personally feel that the “Letters” are some of the most important documents that you include along with the copies of your will, Power of Attorney (POA) and Health Care Directive (HCD), so I suggest starting with the letters, after your legal documents are completed.
I would also like to share link to a great online tool to help you gather all the estate documents you need in one place, in case you can’t find a bright green box around your house.
Letter to your spouse
Letter to each child
Letter to your executor(s)
Name of funeral home to be used
Burial information (place, special instructions, etc.)
List of personal and business people that should be contacted in the event of passing (including executor)
Copy of will
Instructions not addressed in will
List of mementos and to whom you’d like them given
Copies of POA and HCD documents
Copy of passport, birth certificate
Copy of all credit cards
Copy of physical property titles
Personal stock portfolio information
Details of Life insurance- personal and company owned
Details of all other insurance
List of trusted advisors and their roles such as lawyer, accountant, etc.
Copies of personal property valuations (Jewelry, guns, collectables, etc)
Computer passwords (or where to find)
Personal financial statement
Extra passport photos
Medical/dental charts If you are still actively operating business(es):
Organizational chart
List of 5 most important employees in the company & their strengths/weaknesses
Off balance sheet deals
Deals in process and evaluation of them
Strategy that you are thinking about but haven’t told anybody about
List of trusted advisors and their roles (may or may not be currently working with company) such as lawyer, accountant, etc.
Copy of Shareholder Agreement(s)
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