Single People Need to Make Sure Loved Ones Can Access Their Finances, Too

Photo by Marcelo Leal on Unsplash.
Time to add another item to the to-do list, which I hadn’t even thought of until I read this Kiplinger’s article but which, in retrospect, seems totally obvious:
If you are single, what would happen to your financial life during an emergency, such as a serious car accident or a sudden illness? To protect your wealth, it’s important to designate someone who has knowledge and access to your money and other financial documents, such as bank accounts, life insurance policies and your will. If you are the only person with this information, it could pose a big financial risk.
I know that we’ve run multiple Billfold stories on the importance of making sure family members have access to your financial records, but I kinda forgot that applied to single people, too. I’m used to managing everything myself, and I’d always vaguely assumed that, even during injury or illness, I’d be able to unlock my phone and process checks or send payments — but that might not actually be the case.
Plus, as Kiplinger notes, somebody will have to deal with my estate after my death. Might as well start prepping those documents (and that somebody) now.
How many single Billfolders have gone through the steps required to give someone else access to your finances, including identifying that person and telling them they’re in charge if an emergency happens?
And, since I’m going to have to schedule all of this work for sometime this summer… how long does it take?
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