If you are going on holiday no doubt you’ll have a few tasks on a checklist to be done before you leave; cancel the paper, get someone to feed the cat, arrange for the lawns to be mown, check the oil and tyres on the car etc. While it’s a busy time of year, it’s a good time to make sure your finances are in order too.  Here’s a checklist of important things to take care of before you go away:

• Do you have a safe place where all your important documents are kept, for example, insurance policies, wills, family trust deed, records of any investments, mortgages or loans, birth and marriage certificates, passports etc?
•  If anything happened to you, would someone else know where to find these documents?
•  Do you and your partner both have wills? Who else has a copy? Are they up-to-date?
•  Do you have adequate insurance cover for your personal possessions?
•  Do you understand what exclusions, limitations or conditions you have on your insurance cover and what your excess is?
•  Do you know what to do and who to call if you need to make a claim, especially if you are away from home at the time?
•  Do you have a list of all your possessions, including serial numbers, photos, or some other evidence of what you own?
•  Do you have adequate life insurance?
•  How would your partner and family fare if you were to suffer a serious accident or illness and be unable to work again?

 Chances are that you won’t need to know the answers to these questions for a long time, but adverse events can often happen without warning. Having your finances in order makes dealing with them much easier.