So far, three different items were discovered that were not in the famous file cabinet. 

Listen, our mother was 91 years old, and yes, she had a computer, which I like to think of as the world’s most expensive deck of cards.  She played countless hours of solitaire.  In fairness, she could read her emails, check the news and do a few other basic items.  However, like many people, she relied upon paper.  She had her file cabinet and for the past ten years, almost every time I visited, we had a quick conversation about, “here is where you need to go to find everything.”  That has turned out not to be entirely the case.  For example, she did not store any of her credit card information there.  I did get her wallet and contacted the credit rating agencies, thereby understanding what type of debt was outstanding. 

As of today, there were three items not in the file cabinet that should have been there:  (i) her life insurance policy, (ii) her annuity, that has a remaining balance, and (iii) the company that provides her supplemental medical insurance.  Both the life insurance and the annuity contacted me, so yes, we were fortunate.  But let’s be clear, the life insurance company reached out to myself, my brother and my sister, who has lived at her current address for 15 plus years.  The only one they successfully contacted was our brother.  The annuity company sent the claim forms to our mother, at her address, but of course, I had her mail forwarded to me.  Finally, in regard to the supplemental medical insurance, well, that was discovered as they were auto-debited her bank account. 

Here’s the lesson.  Paper seems intuitive, but it has massive flaws.

• There is no organization and natural guide as to what information you should be providing to your executor and/or loved ones.
• Life changes, we progress, and our estate changes, and quite often our records become dated and newer items fail to be included. 
• There is not necessarily a guarantee that your paper trail will be found or understood.  Sure, in the case of our mother she was older, but if you are in your 40s, 50s, 60s, your life is quite active and change is a part of your existence.  And who do you tell?  You might show your spouse or your children, but what about someone else.  For me, my spouse is the executor, but we could both die, and then it’s our nephew.  And while I have him designated on my The Electronic Guardian Vault, paper would have been a different story.  I may not necessarily have shown him where I keep things and his access to our home would certainly be more difficult.  And again, I might provide my spouse with a binder that includes passwords and accounts, etc., I am not going to want to share that with my nephew.  And in that case, the security of your information becomes an issue. 

In the end, paper can be messy, lack information and create a lot of extra work.