I’ve been talking about getting Legacy Ready for weeks. Last week I picked one place where my Vital Legal Papers Box would reside – on the floor in the back of the hall closet.
This morning, I finally stopped talking and started doing it.
New here? Start with “Who Is Vicki Peel Now?” – then come back.
Now it’s time to start gathering my “stuff” and putting it into the box (or wherever it needs to go).
Just 45 minutes
I set a timer for 45 minutes. Why? 45 minutes is not overwhelming – it’s not even an hour! There is an end to this step. After all, let’s be honest. I wasn’t relishing getting started on this. I can write about things all day long. It’s the implementation part – the getting started part that I resist.
But, that 45 minutes went really fast. And here’s what happened.
The plan was to complete the Personal Information section of the Vital Legal Papers Checklist. Wow! Only five things to complete, and I already knew all that. After all, I knew my whole name, date of birth, social security number. I’ll be finished in five minutes, I thought.
I looked in the two places where I knew (or thought I knew) personal documents were stored – in the filing drawer in my office and in a box where I started putting “stuff” that had to be sorted and decisions made.
I found our birth certificates immediately, and I had forgotten that I had put them in the file drawer. They were even labeled in a file folder.
Then the questions started popping up
What do I do with the information? I decided to start a Google doc listing all the information in the first section of the checklist.
Then it occurred to me. Not everything will need to go in the VLP Box. So, after I decide where something should be located, I need to name the location for whoever needs to know. So, I added that to the data doc I was preparing
Next, I realized that for some things, certain actions need to be taken with the information. For instance, I listed three phone numbers: my personal cell phone, the landline phone, and my Google Voice number. Listing the numbers doesn’t tell anyone what to do with them – the phone carrier, contact information and how to cancel the account. I saved that part for another work session.
Because my husband wasn’t at home at the time, I made a note to ask him a few questions about some of his data. I saved that for another time.
Then the bigger picture emerged
I soon realized A Vital Legal Papers Box isn’t really about gathering papers. It doesn’t even have to be a box. It can take whatever form works for your situation.
Because finding the information isn’t enough. It’s about leaving instructions.
Whoever eventually needs it also needs to know what it means, where related information is located, and sometimes what they’re supposed to do with it.
I’m not just gathering papers. I’m trying to leave directions.
Distractions creeping in
I soon realized how easy it was to get distracted.
I stopped to read a newspaper article from 1931 – my father was on the 3rd grade honor roll!
And in another newspaper article from 1982, there was a picture of myself and one of my students talking about attending a state meeting.
That 45 minutes was flying by!
The results
I checked out my VLP Box. There were two zippered sections. The top section was about 2 inches deep with storage pockets. The bottom section was simply a big empty space. I was surprised to see there was not an organized way to add files. It looked as though you just dumped stuff in there. I “filed” that thought away to figure out another day.
- Here’s what I accomplished in my 45 minutes.
- Started a Google doc listing all requested personal information, along with where the items were located, which is especially important if they are not going to be in the box.
- Added our birth certificates, passports, and the checklist to the box.
- Made notes to identify information I needed to add later.
- Identified how to use the VLP Box to store items and information.
- This was only 45 minutes. I didn’t quite finish the Personal Information section. I certainly didn’t finish my Vital Legal Papers Box.
But I started.
And I learned something I couldn’t have learned by thinking about it for another year: the questions don’t all show up until you begin.
That’s what I’m going to keep doing—working through this one piece at a time, noticing what’s missing, and building a better process as I go.
I’m also creating the workbook I wish I’d had beside me this morning. More about that next week.
Because getting Legacy Ready isn’t about getting everything perfect. It’s about making things a little clearer for the people who may someday have to step in.
This was a successful first step.
I’d been planning to do this for several years. And today, I accomplished part of it. It actually excites me about continuing the process. What a load off my mind that will be when I finish it.
If you’d like a copy of the checklist I used, it’s free on my website home page – https://HERLifeHacks.com
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