We receive a lot of calls from people who are trying to deal with the death of a loved one.  Not only are they grieving for the loss of a family member or friend, but they are also overwhelmed by the actual process of having to gather that person’s stuff.  They don’t know where that person left their will, whether that person has a safety deposit box, what bank accounts that person held, which life insurance companies to contact, and the list goes on.

Fortunately, there is a little-known document called a Letter of Instructions that is designed to let your family and friends know where your stuff is located and how to manage it.  While we have been big advocates for our clients to prepare these types of documents, we did not have a form template to assist them with this task. Thankfully, we have discovered the great work done by Erik A. Dewey, who prepared one for himself and has graciously offered for others to use it for free on the internet.  You can find his Letter of Instructions template, called “The Big Book of Everything MK II,” at http://www.erikdewey.com/bigbook.htm.

Richard M. Morgan