The Boy Scouts have it right—you should be prepared. You should have an emergency fund so you are prepared for a car wreck or job loss. You should have health insurance set up so you won't get bankrupted by a hospital stay. And in case the worst happens, you need to have a Legacy Drawer.

A Legacy Drawer is a drawer in your house with all the important papers that your family needs if something happens to you. It contains everything: your last will and testament, insurance policies, funeral instructions, mutual fund statements, passports, budgets—everything that your spouse and family would need to know if you weren't around. It is also organized in such a way that a nine-year-old could open it up and find any given document in 30 seconds.

What's the Point?

There are a few big reasons to have a Legacy Drawer:

• Leave no hassle or fuss. When you die, your family will be overcome with grief. The last thing they need at that point is to have to sort through a mess of papers and forms to find out what happens to your estate. By organizing everything into one simple place, they can find what they need when they need it without getting stressed out.
• Organize other areas of your life. When you realize that you don't have a monthly budget (one of the things that goes into the Legacy Drawer), it can motivate you to sit down with your spouse and make one. Also, a Legacy Drawer can get you to open up emotionally to your family.
• Communicate with your family. If you communicate to your spouse, children or other loved ones about what to do with your things when you die, it can help you talk to them about other important things.

Real-Life Story

Here is just one example from a member of MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com regarding the importance of the Legacy Drawer.

When my dad died, my mom was lost on what to do with the paperwork. So when she got sick, she immediately put me on her bank account. She then showed me an envelope that she had put in a dresser drawer. Across the front was written "In the event of my death." She told me if anything happened to her, get the envelope. Well, when she passed away, I got out the envelope, inside was her will, all of her credit accounts, the account numbers, telephone numbers, and balances and precise information as to what I should do step by step.

We want to challenge you to get your Legacy Drawer together over the next 30 days. Every single bit of information that goes in there can be obtained in less than a month. Give this gift to your family. Give them a Legacy Drawer.

Start your Legacy Drawer with MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com.

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