From your valuable jewelry, to your precious heirlooms, to even your best vacuum for pet hair, you have a lot of expensive and treasured items that you’ve built up over all those years. As you get older, you want to make sure that these valuables are insured for your future generations, and to protect from theft, fire, natural disaster, or any other situation that may put your items at risk.
Therefore, home insurance is a vital thing to have as you get older, and you need a plan in place to make sure you family receives your valuables when you’re gone. So here are some tips to make sure you have everything in order:
- Make sure your insurance is active. Many people buy home insurance, but then forget to have it renewed, accidentally letting it expire, or not making payments on time. So it’s important to check with your insurance provider to make sure your home insurance is in good standing.
- Make sure all your valuables are accounted for. It’s good to prepare a thorough list of all the valuables in your home to make sure they’re accounted for. Write down every item on paper and make sure you know where it is. Then, check to see that they are itemized individually on your insurance policy.
- Meet with an attorney regarding your estate. To ensure that your valuables get passed down to your family members, you’ll need to have established a written will. One visit with an estate attorney can take care of this. They will guide you along the process as you determine who you want to receive your most valuable items. This is a legally binding document, so be sure you’ve made up your mind.
- Consider consulting with your family. This is up to you, but some people prefer letting family members know that they will receive something passed down beforehand. If you decide to do this, it’s a good idea to discreetly inform them of what you intend for them to receive.
By following the above tips, you will be prepared to have your valuables insured properly, and you can set in place a plan to have these valuables passed down to your loved ones. You have worked hard your whole life to build up these valuables — it’s important to be prepared.