15/07/2023
Letter written by a wife after her husband's death in an accident
"Few things I learnt after my husband's death:-
Only when things hit us bang on your head you realise, Life is so unpredictable.
My husband was an IT guy, All technical. And I am a chartered accountant.
Awesome combination you may think.
Techie guy so everything is on his laptop. His to do list. His e-bill and his bank details, all login id and passwords for all his online accounts. And even his laptop had a password.
One fine morning my hubby expired in a bike accident on his way home from the office.
His laptop with all his data crashed. Everything on his hard disk wiped off. No folder of IMPWDS to refer back to. His mobile with all the numbers on it was smashed. But that was just the beginning. I realised I had a lot to learn.
His saving ac, his salary ac had no nominee. On his insurance his mom was the nominee and it was almost 2 years back she had expired. I didn't know the password to his email account where all his e-bill came.
I realised I was in for a long haul.
Road accident case. So everywhere I needed a Death certificate, FIR report, Post Mortem report. For everything there were forms running into pages indemnity bonds, notary, surety to stand up for you. No objections certificates from your co-heirs.
The bike or car cannot be transferred in your name without going through a set of legal documents. Getting a Succession Certificate is another battle all together.
Then came the time you realise now you have to start changing all the bills, assets in your name. Your gas connection, electricity meter, your own house, your car, your investments and all sundries. And then change all the nominations where your own investments are concerned. And again a start of a new set of paperwork.
Lessons learnt this hard way were meant to be shared. After all why should the people whom we love the most suffer after we are no more.
Sorting some paperwork before we go will at least ease some of their grief.
1. Check all your nominations...
- Bank, FD, NSC, Lockers, Demat Ac, Insurance, Investments, PF Pension Forms
2. Passwords.
We have passwords for practically everything. Email, Bank,laptop etc, Put it down on a paper.
3. Investments.
Do we maintain a excel sheet about it. Where are those physical investments hard copy.
4. Will.
Make a Will. I know you will smile even I would had I not gone through all what I did. It would have made my life a lot less paperwork.
I wouldn't had to provide an indemnity bond, get it notarised, ask surety to stand up, no objections certificates from others...
5. Liabilities.
When you take a loan say for your house or car. Will the EMI still be within my range. If not get insurance on the loan.
We do not know what will happen in the future. But as the Scout motto goes: Be prepared.
Family management is not only cooking + cleaning + taking care of the dependents but also involves complex operational knowledge of finances.
