From Chaos to Clarity: Organizing Critical Life Documents

You’re listening to Boomers Today with your host Frank Samson. Well, welcome to Boomers Today. I’m your host, Frank Samson. Of course, each week we bring your employment very useful information on issues facing baby boomers, their parents and other loved ones.

And I, just as I do on each one of our podcasts, I thank all of you. And the reason I thank all of you is because so many of you are sharing our podcasts individual shows with family and friends, and our listeners keep growing each and every day, just organically. So thank you so much. I know many of you listen to the show on various podcast stations like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Audible, and there’s other podcast as well that you can listen to the show.

So you just go to Alex and Siri and ask them to take you to Boomers Today. So thank you again so much for that. I really appreciate it. So we’re not going to disappoint you today either, all right, because we have a wonderful guest, and we have with us Lisa Johnson.

As the founder of Life and Order, Lisa is dedicated to helping individuals and families gain peace of mind by organizing and securing their most important information. The inspiration behind Life and Order came from our own personal experiences, which we’re going to learn more of. After helping family members through difficult health challenges, Lisa recognize the overwhelming importance of having key documents, financial records, legal information, insurance details, and more organized, secure and accessible. This led to the creation of Life and Order, where the mission is to simplify my life’s critical information so you can focus on what matters most.

So, Lisa, thank you so much for joining us on Boomers today. I really appreciate it. Thank you, Frank for having me. Yeah, that’s great, it’s great.

So tell us a little more. I know, I just in your bio talked about some personal experiences you had, you know, with family, So tell us is that kind of what was the catalyst for starting Life and Order and tell us more about that. Sure. Yes, about ten and a half years ago, when my father was put under hospice care, we thought this was a good idea good time for us to make sure that we had everything.

In order for my mom and my dad. And I’ve always been a very detailed and organized person. But I guess I didn’t realize just how detailed and organized until we got all of the information I thought that we needed. And after my dad died, my mom made an appointment with her attorney.

And when my sister, brother and I met with the attorney and I was showing him everything that I had put together in the way I had put it together, he just made the comment, I wish all of my clients were this organized and had all of this put together beforehand. And he shared because then stories of families that wouldn’t even speak to each other because the will was difficult to find and they thought there was one and it ended up being a newer will, and so he just said, if everybody could have all of this together, the heartache and the grief would just have been so much less. And when we were walking out of that meeting, my sister Laurie elbowed me and said, I think this is what you need to start working on for other people. So that’s how it all got started.

That’s great, that’s a great story. And you’ve been doing this for a while now, right. Well, yes, I mean that was kind of the big of the fault of starting life and order. And but as I you know, also a pastor, uh and I’m also a hospice volunteer, and so with all of those experience and experiences, I just kept thinking, oh, we need to add that, and add that, and and and also not only just helping people get their documents together, but also where to keep them.

One of the. Saddest stories I had with as a hospice volunteer. Is a twenty four year old. Young man was in a motorcycle accident and was in a Thursday afternoon, was taken to the hospital and they.

Thought that he was brained dead. His parents got there, I was called in as a what we call a vigil volunteer, just to be with the family and to be with the young man, because some folks don’t want their loved ones, you know, to be alone, and they don’t want to be alone. And so the charge nurse came in to ask questions and questions we all get, you know, do you have a living or does he have a living will? And his mother responded that he did well. The neurologist has to do wait twenty four hours and do it one more test before they can discuss, you know, going ahead and cutting off all the machines.

And so when. That day came, which was Friday, afternoon, the parents were told that yes, indeed he was brained in and they could just produce his directive as advanced care directive. Then they could do what they said their son wanted, and that would be to not be like that. Unfortunately, they kept his living will in the bank safety deposit box and this is Friday evening, so that poor family had to leave their son on life support even though there was no chance for him until Monday morning when the bank opened so they could get that document.

Yeah, so in that case, you know, they had the document done, but obviously put it in a place that you know, people couldn’t get to. But with the families that you work with, do you find that you’re having to start from scratch with them they don’t have the documents and they need to create them, or they have them and they just don’t have it organized. We’d say both. I’m surprised.

And part of the things that we do when we do our seminars is, you know, we ask people what are you know? What are the big five documents? What are the documents you need to have? And most people know, but then when I say how many of you have them? I’d say probably half the people in the room raise their hands. Then when I ask them, how. Many do you? How many of you. Your loved ones know where these documents are? And half of those hands go down.

So we might have half of them that have the documents they need, or what we call our legal room. But only a quarter has let their executor know where their will is, has let their medical power of attorney know where their advanced directive is. Only a quarter of. Them have their durable power of attorney know what bank accounts they have and what liabilities they have.

And so you’re kind of you have all these people lined up, but if they don’t know how to get says to these documents, they’re like sitting in their hands. You know, you mentioned the five documents. Can you go you know with those? Can you go through that and. Maybe help educate us on the document at a minimum, those documents that they should have put.

Together absolutely what the attorneys called the big five documents are of course, last will and Testament, and this document, of course is just. Communicates what your final wishes. Are for your asset disposition after your death or in the case of if you have dependence or you’re a guardian, what you want you know, who you would want to take care of, to take care of your children or your incapacitated adult if that weren’t the case. That’s extremely important.

The second one we just talked about is known as a living will. It’s the natural the declaration of a natural desire for natural death, and that’s that document you can have. Well, the last Will and Testament is a very important. You can only have one of those, and it has to be the original.

You can make copies for folks, but that is. Not going to be the one that can be used through probate. You can have many copies of your living will, and we recommend that not only do you have copy of your living will, your medical power of attorney have a copy of it, but you have your your doctors that they have that as well, so that you will have access to it, not keeping it in safe deposit box. That document just says what do you want to do if you’re in a place where you cannot make those questions yourself.

The power of attorney, there’s two. We have a durable power of attorney, which is the person that’s responsible for handling your financial assets and liabilities. If you were in a place where you couldn’t do that for yourself. You know, who’s going to pay your bills, who’s gonna who’s going to make sure that that everything for your financial things are being taken care of.

Likewise, your medical power of. Attorney answers those questions for your medical needs if you’re not in a position that you can do it for yourself. These are two very different. Just a comment on those two.

First of all, my opinion on how you feel about it. They’re lousy names. You know. The reason I say that, I think when someone hears power of attorney durable power attorney, I think the thinking is that, oh, that must be the attorney that that handles that, and that’s certainly.

Not the case. That’s why I think it’s kind of confusing the people based on the name itself. There is I agree, yeah, so, but it’s so important. Yes, so go ahead finish.

I’m sorry to cut you off there, No. No, no, that’s that’s exactly right. And another point too is a lot of people think that their executor or their power attorney or their medical power attorney should automatically be a spouse, and that might not necessarily be the best person because of that person’s not one that does any of the findings. It might be your son who’s a certified financial planner, so it doesn’t happen.

Also, I think there’s also a tell me if I’m correct here, but there’s a perception that the spouse is automatically the power of attorney and that’s not the case. It’s still not the case. That is not the case. Yes, yea, so it’s yeah.

So those are very important distinctions that need to be made. Is that it does need to be someone that you trust obviously, and also someone that has information for about your information so they can do the job you’ve asked them to do for you. And the last one everybody needs those four documents. The last one is the revcal living trust.

And I cannot tell you whether you need that or not. Only an attorney can tell you. It’s basically a legal document that protects your assets and the privacy of the trust owner and the beneficiaries. Of the trust.

So that’s whether your personal situation would require that or not. It’s not a question that we would answer. That be to your attorney to answer whether or not you need that, right. Right, right, So again, another perception, we don’t have a lot of money there’s you know, or my dad doesn’t have much, doesn’t have a house, doesn’t have much money.

Why do we need to do all these documents? I don’t think we need to do them. Have you heard that? And what’s your response? Absolutely, And a lot of people say they’re just so expensive, they’re so expensive, and they can be, but when you think about what other things we pay for, these are important documents that when you get into a crisis situation, whether dad doesn’t have a house or not, then if he’s renting an apartment, where’s the lease? What are the terms of the lease? You know, those are kind of information that your durable power of attorney would be handling for you. Your will might not be much, but you know, do you really want your kids not to know about that that bank account that you started thirty years ago? So it might not be much, but you want it to be able to go to the people that you wanted to. Go to and not let a probate judge decide that for you.

Yeah, I was just going to bring that up, talk to us about probate and so if people don’t have this together, what’s the consequences. Well, again, that’s an attorney would be better to answer that question than I would. But I have seen the devastating effects when we put it up, people not having the documents that they need. Just because you’re in a crisis situation.

And that’s why you do it when you’re not in a crisis situation. So if you do not have a will, then it does automatically go in, at least in my state, it goes through probate and probate it has to, you know, all of your stuff has to go through probate. But when you have a will, it’s. So much easier to have it where it’s very easy to you know, make sure that your assets are going to the people that you wanted to go to.

Got it. So I’m sure that there’s some people listening and we’re making their head spin here, right, So we’re going to take a real quick break, I promise, just to recognize the response. When we come back, we’ll get into more of how you’re going to be able to help those people whose heads are currently spinning and how you can make. It unds great for them.

Okay, right, So do you know anyone who may be concerned about an older driver, well, senior care authorities beyond driving with Dignity Program is a facilitated self assessment program for older drivers. This program has been designed to serve as a vital tool to facilitate older drivers and their families as they make appropriate decisions regarding the future of one safe driving career. If the individual is a safe driver, an advisor will provide him or her with strategies on how to remain a safe driver as they progress through the aging process. If driving retirement is the appropriate decision, then the individual and their family are offered possible alternatives, resources and a specific plan to ensure a smooth and successful transition from the driver seat to the passenger seat.

So to learn more, go to www. Dot Beyond Driving with dignity dot com to connect with a senior care authority advisor in your area. So we are back with Lisa Johnson, who’s the founder of Life in Order, and we’re learning a whole bunch and putting documents together and planning, which a lot of people don’t do. But Lisa, why don’t you go ahead and share with people they could learn more website, et cetera.

And then we’ll get into some specifics. Okay, if anybody’s interested in getting more information about products that we have put together. We have a handbook that is designed for both couples or singles, as well as a software application and that you can use. And all of those products you can find on our website www.

Dot Life in order dot com, so a lot more information there. And I know we started focusing on the legal room, and I say to all of our clients and friends that if you don’t do anything else, to do the legal room. But that’s just one asset, that one aspect of your life. And that had both the handbook and the software app.

We have six other rooms because we realized we don’t want it just to be for you know, just with your end of life, but also just to give you some peace. We also had the financial room lists your obvious things like you you know, your mortgage or your investment accounts, but also things like any kind of sentimental items that you would want your family to know about, like this is grandmother’s brooch and that kind of thing. We have our insurance room, and I just had. A client about two weeks ago contact me so thankful because his father had a life insurance policy that he didn’t tell anybody because you don’t think about the fact that when you’re dead, you can’t tell somebody, And it was one hundred and fifty thousand dollars life insurance and because they had put it in their insurance room, the family was able to get that money they really needed it.

We also have the medical room. This is another one of those things that we always think that we’re going to be able to answer for ourselves. But as a pastor, I got called. In to the emergency room.

I had a couple. The husband was experiencing what they thought were stroke symptoms and said, the first thing they asked the wife when we arrived was what medications does. Your husband take? And he was not responsive, and she’s looking at him and looking at the doctor and she does not know the medicines or the amounts that he takes. So they did.

They had to do a thirty minute blood draw to determine what was in his system before they could do that life saving the treatment, and of course with stroke, time is of the essence. And when they had taken his blood, she looked at me and said, may have just killed my husband because I don’t have that information in my head. So in the medical room we have all kinds of things like that. As well as your family history and your own personal history.

The living room is our favorite room. This is the room in which we live and breathe the things that we don’t even think about, like your warranties or where your water shut off valve. We just recently had snow here and if I had not known where our water shut off valve was, I might have been in a little bit of trouble. The other the last two rooms that will visit as a digital room.

And the digital room is all of your you know, whether we like it or not, we have a digital footprint now. So these are all. Your portals, your user names, your passwords for all of those portals, as well as just information. About your digital life.

You know what platforms are you on social media, so that you would have that information as well. And the last one we call our legacy room. And I cannot tell you how. Many times as a pastor I’ve met with family members after a loved one has died, and these wonderful, wonderful people, and I said, well, what hims did your dad want to use? And they have no clue or what you know, what’s your favorite scripture? And they so will you just choose something and I’m happy to do that, but I think how much better it would be if they had had an opportunity to talk with their loved one about why is that your favorite hymn or scripture.

Also in this room is information about whether you’ve already purchased, you know, a burial plot, whether or not you have you know, already prepaid for like cremation expenses or funeral homes. When my dad, as I said, was under hospice care and we were going through putting this information together, my mother just mentioned that they had prepaid for their cremation and I thought later, you know, if they had been killed in a car accident together, my brother, sister and I would have been so you know, shocked and shock, we would have paid again. So it’s things like that that we try to we asked the questions that need to be asked. Some of these questions are hard questions, but the answers give the family and the people who use our products on what they need and.

So that that that was our aim, that’s our goal. So what if you know, listen, working digitally, uh, you know, on the on the on the internet, on your website is pretty commonplace, but there’s still some people that are not as comfortable with that. What options do you have for those that are just traditional with preferred just pen and paper. Well, that’s where we have our handbook and and so they can write the things in.

Another personal story is my sister was diagnosed with a very aggressive and rare cancer and so we kind of I never thought that I’d be using this for her, but we already had the handbook was pretty much prepared, and so she used the handbook to write all the information that her husband and her to adult sons would need, and then we transferred that information onto the software app so that the software application has reports. Like you’re going to the doctor, you go to visit to the doctor, you print out your report that has everything that the doctor needs. It pulls from all seven rooms for the doctor’s appointment or in case of emergency, for your house, and it pulls all the documents from those seven rooms that you need. But everything that’s in the handbook is also owned the software application.

And I did the same thing for my mom. She did that, she did the handbook herself, and then I, as her daughter, prefer to have it in the digital form, So I took that information, and sadly my sister did die, but what a gift it was. Her son told me later, what a gift it was to even be able to see her handwriting in the book as she was preparing to make things easier for them. Yeah, that’s great.

That’s great me. So you know, you got seven rooms, a lot of information. What do you say to those that say this is just a little overwhelming. I don’t know if I could, and they keep putting it off.

They put it off because it just seems so overwhelming. What suggestions you have for people who say that, I’d. Say that you start with everybody needs to do the legal stuff. You that’s just the no brainer.

So and that’s the easiest one to do, and then the rest of the seven rooms. And if you do it yourself, that’s fine, But the rest of the rooms you pick and choose. If your parents with the young children, you might want to start with the living. Room that has all of where you know, all the different activities your children have.

If they’re paid that their coaches are paid by Venmo or automatic draft or whatever it might be, you might want to start there. Like my dad when he was putting under. Hospice care, he immediately wanted to go to the legacy room and start putting down his final wishes for to make sure that we have all of that taking care of. If you were just diagnosed with some of the chronic illness or then you might want to go to the medical room to make sure that your family members know all of your specialists, you know where you get your medications, what you’re taking.

So it really is. More of a personal choice. My business associate, Jill is very different from me. I started to one room and I just went straight through and I pulled all the documents.

She just went through and decided. Whatever she already had in her head, she put down. So it’s an individual thing. And some people might say, you know, I’m not going to worry about that room, and that’s okay too, But we have had clients come back to us and said, I put it off and put it off, and then when we got evacuated and had thirty minutes to get.

Out of the Western North Carolina, that’s when I realized I wish i’d done it. So we’ve just encouraged people don’t wait for that crisis, and then if you do, you’ll realize how important it is. And you’ll get started right away. Right and as far as age, you know, again there’s a perception out there that, well, you don’t have to do this until you’re little older.

Talk to us about that. Okay, Well I gave both my children I’ve called them children, but they were in their twenties. And one of my son, right before he went on his honeymoon, he gave his house that or he ran the report or taking care of. His home while he was away.

And while he and his. New wife were on honeymooning in Greece, his dishwasher decided that it just wanted to spill water all over the floor, and his house that was able to go and find out where that water shut. Off valve was, which I talked. About, was so important, as well as the appliants repair person, so when they came back from their vacation, they didn’t even have to be bothered by that.

And their house thatter just said, hey, you should be expecting a bill from your appliance repair person, because the appliance repair person. Was listed in the book. And my son was twenty five years old. So I think, you know, if.

You’re eighteen, you need to have the legal room for sure, but all of these other things. You know, if you start, the younger you start. But certainly for. Folks my age mid fifties and my mom’s age mid eighties, really need to start looking at this because our loves get more complicated, and even organizing a little bit, even if you don’t do the whole thing, but organizing just a little bit helps you live more peacefully, and certainly a gift to your family so that when they’re grieving, they’re not also frantically searching for all these scattered documents.

It’s a true gift. And I know, you know, the example you brought up about your son is a great example. But you know which is you know, all very important, probably saved them a lot of money and repairs and things like that. But also when you’re eighteen, I think it’s eighteen, I mean, if something serious happened, all right, even to the fact that you got into an accident and could be put on life support or whatever, talk about that.

Why it’s importance at even at that age to have you know some of these things put together. Sure, I think the best thing about starting sooner than later, now, you know, is number one. If you’re eighteen years old, you need to go ahead and start thinking about how you’re you know, the whole of your life. So you still even if you have no assets, you might have something.

And so you’re going to need to have that legal documentation done. The younger you are, the less assets and liabilities you are have, the cheaper that document will be. So we even suggested some people it’s a great gift for grandparents and parents to give to their kids, you know, getting started early. But here again, if you don’t know, if you don’t have the information you need no matter what.

Just like the young man that you know in the. Motorcycle accident, his parents knew he had one, but they just didn’t keep it in the right place and the agony that they had to go through. And I don’t know how many people listening today keep their grandkids. But even something and this is something that we have in our living room and we offered on our website at no charge, is the permission to treat form.

My mother and father were taking care of our young kids when we were chaperoning at the prom. My husband and I and. My mother and my daughter got bitten by the same copperhead. Oh wow.

And they went to urgent Care. But because my husband and I failed to. Have the consent to treat form for our daughter and we did not have any of her medical. Insurance, Urgent Care refused to see her.

They you know, they would treat my mom because she was of age and had her information, but not my daughter said, they ended up having to go to an emergency room. So I don’t want anybody to have to do that. Things like that that you’re thinking about young parents or grandparents that you know, if you’re leaving your children and care of someone else, make sure they have that information. Yeah, so, Lisa, unfortunate rut of time.

This has just been fantastic. But I’ll give you an opportunity, just any words of wisdom to our listeners. Sure get started if you and if you have gotten started, or if you’re already so organized you have it all together. Make sure that your trusted loved ones know where you’d put that information, because you never know when you’re going.

To be in a situation where you cannot tell them where it is. So it’s not just about getting the. Right information together and organizing it together, it’s also about making sure your loved ones know where that information is. Great, great Lisa, Johnson.

Check it out Life Inorder dot com. Lisa, thank you so much for joining us today. Really are my pleasure. Thank you everybody for joining us.

Please please be safe. And we’ll talk to everybody next week. You’ve been listening to Boomers Today with Frank Sampson. To learn more about today’s show, visit Boomerstodayradio dot com and join us next time for another edition of Boomers Today.