Organizing client records

[Anonymous]

I am reading through the book recommended on AADMM’s website, “Get It Together-Organize Your Records So Your Family Doesn’t Have To”. I would like to offer this service to potential clients; however, it looks like this book is for personal use, not business use. Has anyone used the concepts in this book to get your client’s records together, and if so, how did you go about it? Did you make up your own forms and follow the suggested format? Or am I wrong and could I use the forms in the book for this business purpose?

Thanks,
Heather Budgick

[Anonymous]

At least two AADMM DMMs that I know have developed products of this type as an add-on to what they do for clients.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, Thomas, for your response! It looks like I have some work to do 🙂

[Karen Ethridge]

Hi Heather,

I have considered offering an add-on service of organizing my client’s financial, medical and legal paperwork and looked at Debbie Gilster’s Life Affairs binder as an example of what I would offer. Very comprehensive and it’s available at a reasonable cost http://homefinancecare.com/lifeaffairsbinder. The other one you may be referring to is Kay Bransford’s MemoryBanc http://www.memorybanc.com/ which offers a place to organize important documents and information in one place. I think both would be good to use with clients who may need your assistance in gathering the information in one place. It’s also a great service to offer an update on a yearly basis to make changes if needed (for a nominal cost or as part of the initial cost of providing this service) A number of DMMs are also Professional Organizers and utilize workbooks and digital tools to keep clients’ information in one place that is accessible to POAs and beneficiaries when needed. Think it’s a great service, so hope you decide to include this in your business 🙂

Barbara

[Anonymous]

Great info, Barbara! Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Hi Heather and Barbara,

I’m curious if either of you decided to try either of these methods and how it worked for you?

I think this would be an invaluable tool and would love to implement something myself for my clients.

Thanks all,

Wendy

[Karen Ethridge]

Hi Wendy,

Actually I did put together a life binder for several clients that included copies of their estate documents, legal information and medical forms and docs. It was really appreciated by the family members and POAs.
I labeled each section (medical, legal and financial, other) and included a listing of all the professionals involved. I kept this at the client’s residence and would update as needed. Having this as a stand alone service with the binder that could be updated (annually or as needed) is a great idea for clients who may handle their finances, but don’t care to maintain and keep track of all the financial, legal, and medical paperwork.

I found a 3 hole punch transparent business card holder for all the professionals, so it’s easy to get contact info for them as they are all in one place. I started a binder like this for myself (but haven’t finished yet!)

[Anonymous]

Thank you Barbara,

I really love your idea of the business card insert and think that’s a great resource for families.. I did go ahead and purchase the Life affairs information binder you referenced above. I’m going to work through it for myself so I can get an idea of the time involved and either use her system for my clients and charge them for the information and a fee for preparation or do something on a smaller scale. I’m just starting my business so I may not tackle this right away but I’ll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the information!

Wendy

[Author]

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