In most Malaysian homes, I am sure the scernario is that the vast majority of us store and/or hoard important documents away in the weiredest places, or documents simply scattered all over the home as there is no vision to orgainise and store in any pre-defined place in the house.
So it is no surprise that we face difficulty tracing and retrieving documents when the need arises, just as we face similar situations when medical records and reports go missing or not found in our medical records offices.
I am happy I found this rather good simple innovation in this news item, a homemade creation entitled “Our Just In Case Book.” This book is a simple binder of information that the next of kin or others need, and know where it is located, if either spouse is incapacitated.
Examples of crisis situations can be :
- of a very specific demand, when the father who developed an emergency health issue, the son or the spouse may not know where to find legal documents that grant him the right to take action on the his father’s or spouse’s behalf, respectively.
- when an unexpected trauma is enough to deal with, and the next of kin are unable to trace relevant documents
- facing legal, financial or end-of-life decisions without any input from people you love is devastating.
The notebook could contain the basics :
- a copy of both spouses’ birth certificates
- Social Security (SOCO card, in our local settings) cards
- Medicare cards (eg MedicaGen 200 Medical Card from Zurich Insurance Malaysia Berhad), and insurance cards
- hospital/clinic appointment cards, home-based records etc.
- important phone numbers
- durable power of attorney for health care (this legal document lists who is designated to make medical decisions when they are no longer able)
- a copy of their living wills in case of an irreversible terminal illness
- details regarding health and death decisions that are personally important (for non-Muslims I guess, for example – “When I die, no money on flowers. I want any memorial donations for my favorite charity”)
- information about their burial locations and pre-planned funeral arrangements, as well as Bible readings and hymns for their funerals (for non-Muslims, again).
- a copy of their power of attorney and last will and testament are included (the power of attorney allows a designee to make financial decisions for them if they are not able. It cannot be put into effect unless they are legally judged to be incompetent).
- information on life insurance policies, bank accounts, stocks, bonds and CDs, along with their locations
- in the case of this news item author, “my mother has signed a simple bank document that allows me access to her bank accounts on her behalf”
Abridged, from an original article by KATHY MARTIN, newsroom@wcfcourier.com wcfcourier.com | Posted: Friday, May 18, 2012
