Why YOU Need to Get Organized

Autumn starts tomorrow and the weather will be getting colder and wetter. In New Jersey, we can get hit by huge storms that knock out power lines and that flood houses. If your house were hit by a disaster, would your important documents get soaked? Do you have an inventory of your assets? Do you remember where you put your will, your durable power of attorney, and your advanced health care directive?

Most of us say we'll get around to it when we have more time. But the reality is that we never have more time. And most of us are not good at organizing. It's a skill set that we never developed because it was never that important to us.

But not being organized costs you money in the long run. You wind up duplicating what you have because you can't find the originals. You can't provide to the insurance company a detailed list of your assets and their value so the insurance company doesn't reimburse you properly.

I would be happy to send a copy of my form of Document and Asset Locator to anyone who asks. It's free and you only have to call my office at 201-251-8001 or send me an email at RGronsky@Gronskylaw.com and I will send it right out. This weekend, take a half-hour with the whole family and make it a game to videotape all of your belongings. The next week, have a scavenger hunt and give a reward to the child who can find your will, your durable power of attorney, and your advanced health care directive. If you don't have these documents drafted and signed yet, call your estate planning lawyer immediately for an appointment. Don't stop to think about when you have time to schedule these things. Just make the appointment. You'll force yourself to juggle everything around the appointment and that's a good thing. As the Girl Scouts say, "Be prepared."