There’s a question that tends to surface at inconvenient times.
A trip comes up. Something unexpected happens. A family member needs to step in and handle things for a couple of weeks. And the first real question isn’t about money. It’s about access.
Where are the accounts? Which bills are on autopay? What’s the login for the insurance portal? Who’s the contact at the wealth manager’s office?
Most people know the answers for themselves. The question is whether anyone else could find them.
That’s the handoff test. Not a full audit, not a document overhaul. Just a single, practical question: if you were unavailable for two weeks starting tomorrow, would the person who stepped in be able to find what they needed?
A few places to check:
- Is there a single place where key account information, contacts, and login details are documented and accessible to the right people?
- Are there automatic payments or renewals coming up in the next 60 days that someone else would need to know about?
- Is the person who would step in actually aware of what that would involve?
Start simple. Open the one statement or account you keep deciding to look at later. The thing you keep skipping is usually the one worth opening first. Most people who do this find at least one thing they meant to document and didn’t.
Jeremy Zizmor is the founder of Assurance Family Partners, a company whose mission is to assist and empower individuals and families who need help managing their personal day-to-day finances. He is responsible for running all facets of the business.
