Please hold
on just 15 minutes to read this –
Letter
written by a wife after her husband’s death in an accident. Few things I learnt
after my husband’s death-
We always
believe we will live forever. Bad things always happen to others. Only when
things hit us bang on your head you realize…..Life is so unpredictable….
My husband
was an IT guy, All technical. And I am a chartered Accountant. Awesome
combination you may think.
Techie guy
so everything is on his laptop. His to do list. His e-bill and his bank
statements in his e-mail. He even maintained a folder which said IMPWDS wherein
he stored all login Id and passwords for his online accounts. And even his
laptop had a password. Techie guy so all the passwords were alpha- numeric with
a special character not an easy one to crack. Office policy said password
needed to be changed every 30 days. So every time I accessed his laptop I would
realize it’s a new password again. I would simply opt for asking him …What’s
the latest password instead of taking the strain to memorize it.
You may
think me being chartered accountant would means everything is documented and
filed properly. Alas! Many of my chartered accountant friends would agree that the
precision we follow with our office documents and papers do not flow in day to day home life. At
office you have to be an epitome of reliability/ competent/ diligent etc but at
home there is always tomorrow.
One fine
morning my hubby expired in a bike accident on his way home from office. He was
just 33. His laptop with all data crashed. Everything on his hard disk wiped
off. No folder of IMPWDS to refer back to. His mobile with all the numbers on
it was smashed. But that was just the beginning. I realized I had lot to learn.
Nine years
married to one of the best human beings with no kids just the two of us to fall
back on but now I stood all alone and lost.
Being
chartered Accountant helped in more ways than one but it was not enough. I
needed help. His saving bank accounts, his salary bank accounts had no nominee.
On his insurance his Mom was the nominee and it was almost 2 years back she had
expired. But this was just a start. I don’t know the password to his email
account where all his e-bill came. I didn’t know which expenses he paid by
standing instructions.
His office
front too was not easy. His department had changed recently. I didn’t know his
reporting boss name to start with when had he last claimed his shift allowance,
his mobile reimbursement.
The house we
bought with all the excitement on a loan thought with our joint salary we could
afford the EMI. When the home loans guys suggested insurance on the loan, we
decided that instead of paying the premium the difference in the EMI on account
of the insurance could be used pay towards prepayment of the loan and get the
tenure down. We never thought what we would do if we have to live on a single
salary. So now there was huge EMI to look into.
I realized I
was in for a long haul.
Road
accident case. So everywhere I needed to a death certificate, FIR report, post
mortem report. For everything there were forms running into pages, indemnity
bonds, notary, surety to stand up for you. No objections certificates from your
co-heirs.
I learnt other than your house, your land,
your car, your bike are also your property. So what if you are joint owner of
the flat you don’t become the owner of the flat you don’t become the owner just
because your hubby is no more. So what if your hubby expired in the bike
accident and you are the nominee but if the bike is in a repairable condition,
you have to get the bike transferred in your name to claim the insurance. And
that was again not easy. The bike/ car without going through a set of legal
documents. Getting a Succession Certificate is another battle all together.
Then came
the time you realize now you have to start changing all the bills, assets in
your name. Your gas connection, electricity meter, your own house, your car,
your investments and all sundries. And then change all the nominations where
your own investments are concerned. And again a start of a new set of
paperwork.
To say I was
shaken, my whole life had just turned upside down was an understatement. You
realize you don’t have the time to mourn and grieve for the person with whom
you spend the best years of your life. Because you are busy sorting all the
paper work.
I realized
then how much I took life for granted. I thought being a chartered accountant I
am undergoing so many difficulties, what would have happened to someone who was
house maker would not understand this legal hotchpotch.
A sweet
friend then told me, dear, this was not an end, you have no kids, your assets
will be for all who stand to claim. After my hubby’s sudden death. I realized
it was time I took life more seriously. I now needed to make Will. I would have
laughed if a few months back if he had asked me to make one. But now life had
taken a twist.
Lessons
learnt this hard way were meant to be shared. After all why should the people
whom we love the most suffer after we are no more. Sorting some paperwork
before we go will at least ease some of their grief.
1 1. Check all your nominations....
It’s a usual practice to put a name (i.e. in the first place if you have
mentioned it) and royally forget about it. Most of us have named our parent as
a nominee for investments, bank accounts, opened before marriage. We have not
changed the same even years after they are no longer there with us. Even your
salary account usually has no nomination.. kindly check all your nominations.
·
Bank
accounts
·
Fixed
deposits, NSC
·
Bank
lockers
·
Demat
accounts
·
Insurance
(life, bike/car/ property)
·
Investments
·
PF
pension Forms
22. Passwords.
We have passwords for practically everything. Email accounts, bank
accounts, even for the laptop you use. What happens when your next in kin
cannot access any of these simply because they do not know your password… Put
it down on a paper.
33. Investments.
Every year for tax purpose we do investments. Do we maintain a excel
sheet about it. If so is it on the same laptop on which the password you had
not shared. Where are those physical investments hard copy.
44. Will.
Make a Will. I know you will smile; even I would, had I not gone through
all what I did. It would have made my life lot easier, a lot less paper work. I
wouldn’t have had to provide an indemnity bond, get it notarized, ask surety to
stand up, no objections certificates from others.
55. Liabilities.
When you take a loan say for your house / car. Check out on all the what
if, what if I am not there tomorrow, what if I lose my job. Will the EMI still
be within my range. If not get an insurance on the loan. The people left behind
will not have to worry on something as basic as their own house.
My battles have just begun... But let us at least try and make few
changes so that our loved ones would not suffer after we go. We do not know
what will happen in the future. But as the scout motto goes- “Be Prepared”.
NEVER TAKE LIFE FOR GRANTED.
DO THINGS APPROPRIATE FOR THE ONES WHO
DEPEND ON YOU WITH LOVE.
www.dilsewill.com- an initiative to help you make your Will online. Do like us on facebook
and twitter to get regular updates and do visit our website. Small effort by
you today can save a lot of time and harassment to your loved ones.
Family management is not only cooking + cleaning+
taking care of the dependents but also involves complex operational knowledge
of finances…
Thanking You.
DiL SE WiLL is wishing you a long and
healthy life.
We celebrate your success in life.
Let’s add the awesomeness in our lives.
