• Life is uncertain

Let’s make it easier for the family which is left behind in case of any eventuality happening. The family anyways goes through emotional stress in case of death. Why give them a financial trauma too if documentation is not set in order. Transmission needs to be done for the assets of a person after he or she passes away, and having it well documented will make the entire process easier.

What should be in Documentation?

• Bank statements, pass books, cheque books, ATM cards
• Income tax documents, ITRs
• Important documents like Passport, PAN, Aadhaar, etc
• Vehicle documents
• Insurance documents – Life, Health, Vehicle, Property, General insurance
• Real estate, property statements
• Warranties
• Educational certificates

We should maintain hard copies of these in separate folders labelled appropriately. We should also maintain scanned copies that are easily accessible, increase they need to be set somewhere as a soft copy, or if a print out needs to be taken.

WHAT ELSE IS NEEDED?

• Financial statements should be prepared – Cash flow and Balance sheets
• Networth & cash net worth
• Key ratios tracking

HOW OFTEN DOES IT NEED TO BE UPDATED?

We should set a schedule based on our own comfort but should be updated, at least on a yearly basis.

It should also be updated when you want to do a review, based on any changed circumstances in the family like birth, death, divorce, or anything significant.

IT SEEMS A LOT OF WORK AND I AM GETTING CONFUSED. WHERE DO I START?

I have some GREAT NEWS! I have designed a toolkit for the same so that it makes it easier for you and gives you the necessary push to get this started at the earliest. Best of all, it is FREE.

You can download the toolkit from my website www.financialradiance.com/personal-finance-toolkit.

Wishing you all the best in tracking your personal finance. If you have any suggestions, feedback, please do let me know at rajeshminocha@financialradiance.com. 

Also, please do follow my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/c/financialradiance wherein I periodically upload videos related to personal finance topic and simplify the jargons associated with them, one topic at a time.