Whilst at the Notary doing Wills or Notarised documents there is often time for our staff to chat with clients. One day one of our clients kindly told this story to Silvia and we would like to share it with you.
John called his son Jim to let him know that he’d be flying to New Zealand the following day to try to close an important business deal. Jim, a pilot in the Air Guard Reserves warned his father that potential typhoons could make travel hazardous. John laughed and reminded Jim that if anything tragic happened, to remember to get the “Green Box” out of the closet in his bedroom.
The next day, John was killed when his plane crashed into the side of a mountain on the north island in very low visibility. Several days after the funeral, he remembered his father’s words about the Green Box.
He called his mother and they brought the Green Box to the family attorney. Inside, they found many envelopes. Here are the labels on the envelopes:
Letter to my Wife
Letter to each child (3)
Letter to the employees
Letter to my mother
List of most important 5 employees in the company & their strengths/weaknesses
Off balance sheet deals
Organisational Chart
Details of any company trusts
List of personal and business people that should be contacted in the event of passing
Deals in process and evaluation of them
Strategy that I am thinking about but haven’t told anybody about
List of Trusted Advisors and their roles (may or may not be currently working with company) such as attorney, accountant,
Instructions not addressed in Will
Copies of POA documents
Copy of Passport, Birth Certificate
Copy of all credit cards
Copy of physical property titles
Personal stock portfolio information
Details of Life insurance and of all other insurance
Copies of personal property valuations
Computer passwords
Personal financial Statement
Bank details
Copy of passport, driving licence, bank cards and other ID
Extra passport photos
Medical/Dental Charts
Funeral/Burial Instructions
Mementos and to whom I’d like them given. We think this shows how thorough some people can be and how a little preparation can help for all life´s events!