My Experience Completing My Life & Wishes

After spending nearly a year trying to unwind my parents estate following my father’s passing, it was clear to me that if something were to happen to my husband and I, our children (college age and younger) would never know where to look for our financial records, much less, know what to look for! That’s when I went to work and completed our own My Life & Wishes account.

It took some time to think through everything we had (from online accounts, to insurance policies, to retirement plan benefits); however, with My Life & Wishes, I didn’t have to do much thinking. With checklists and drop downs, the application guided me through completion, making it as easy as possible.

I still had to recall what accounts I had and where the information was, but that proved to be an exercise in organization! I went through paper files and scattered notes that contained current and expired information (I threw out the old so as not to send my children down a fruitless path.) I was able to upload documents such as insurance policies, annual financial statements, and copies of all our important and pertinent information. I quickly realized that with the many accounts we have, filed away in so many places, that left to someone other than us to look for, these plans and benefits would never have been found without our My Life & Wishes account.

And yes, I was one of those people that carried around my children’s social security numbers in my wallet (in the unlikely event I ever needed them). I am happy to say that I have thrown those pieces of paper away, because I know that at any given time, I can pull up our My Life & Wishes account and the information will all be at my fingertips!

Even though the intent and inspiration for My Life & Wishes is to pass knowledge and information on to our loved ones, I have discovered that while I am living, it is my digital organization tool! From social media accounts to passwords to health care directives, I now have one place to store it all.

And, while our My Life & Wishes account is so useful for me today, I feel a great sense of relief and satisfaction, that my children, and even my spouse, will not be left trying to guess where Mom put all her stuff. That is a nightmare that nobody would want to pass on.