What if ...

This is not something I normally talk about to friends and family or write about on my blog, but I received a book pitch recently that I thought was extremely valuable and that filled a specific, important need in my life - a need that my husband and I have discussed but never acted on.  Please take just a minute to watch this video, then scroll down for my comments/thoughts. [If you're reading this in Google Reader you'll have to click through to my blog to see the video.]



Hubby and I have talked many times before about who we would give custody of Kiddo to if we were both suddenly gone.  Each part of our extended family has pros and cons; we have to consider who can best handle Kiddo's health issues, who shares our religious beliefs, and so on.  But we never considered the IMMEDIATE repercussions of us, say, getting in a serious car accident and ending up incapacitated or (God forbid) dead.  Who would know what time Kiddo gets out of school and where to pick him up?  Who would know how to mix the formula for his tube feeding, or how to order his medical supplies, or who his doctors are? Who else knows our plans for organ donation or a list of banks we use or which company holds the mortgage on our house?

These books, the ones that I received a pitch from the author for, are designed to get you to provide those all-important answers to the questions you never knew needed answering, and to put them all in an organized, and easily accessible place.

After checking out both the big book (It's All Right Here Life & Affairs Organizer) and the "mini" version (Twelve Critical Things Your Family Needs To Know), I can honestly say that not only am I impressed but I feel much better prepared to handle the "what ifs" that may come along.

Hubby and I decided that Twelve Critical Things Your Family Needs To Know was more than adequate for our needs.  I spent about 30 minutes filling out the basic info that I knew by heart.  Now I have to set aside a little time to dig up the other required info.  Then it will be time to discuss some of the topics with Hubby and decide what we want to do.

Although we didn't fill out the It's All Right Here Life & Affairs Organizer binder (ie. the big book), I did look though it and it is amazingly detailed.  If you own more than one piece of property, or have lots of assets, or are responsible for other people's living expenses (college students, elderly parents, etc.), this binder is the way to go. 

My point to all this is simple: no one likes to think about these topics but they are vitally important.  

These two books provide a simple and efficient way to get your wishes and affairs planned out in case the worst were to happen. I'm very glad that we've started filling ours out.

Do you have your life and affairs organized?  If not, what are you waiting for?!

For more info on these great resources, check out AffairsOrganizer.com.

A huge thank you to author Mark Gavagan for sending me the binder and the booklet.


UPDATE: Once you read this post, please consider purchasing one of these for your family.  The author will donate 20% of all sales between now and 5/1/10 to a charity I chose. You can see the details here.