RESOURCES & TIPS

Review your most recent tax return and the past year’s bank and credit card statements to get a good idea of income and expenses. Go through the contacts on your phone to determine who to include here. You can do it on your own, but it’s easier if you have a family member or friend who will enter the information into the Word document on your computer as you read it to them. Don’t worry about filling in the fields in order. You can go back later and get the Read More

Questions to ask your insurance company before you create your home inventory: Does my homeowners’ policy cover a specific dollar amount for the contents or a percentage of my home’s value? How do I know what needs professional appraisals? Do I need to keep receipts for every small item I buy? Do I have replacement value on my policy? How does that work? Do you pay me for everything I’ve lost, or only for those things I replace? How quickly are claims usually processed, i.e. how soon would I get Read More

It’s an awful situation if you must evacuate your home. There will be things you want to grab to take with you, but you probably won’t have much time. The best way to prepare is to have certain documents and information available online (in the cloud) so you can access them from anywhere. Especially important if you’re not home or close to home when a situation arises forcing evacuation. That won’t work for everything though – you’ll want some physical items as well. Some cash, keys, photographs, medications, snacks, water, Read More

Over the years, I’ve helped a few clients search for information for multiple prior years’ tax returns so they can have their tax preparer submit the returns. The main reason they delayed? They didn’t have the papers they needed. Often because of situations beyond their control, but not always. Sometimes it was simply because they didn’t have a system to corral those documents as they arrived. Do you have a system set up so tax time is easy? The system you want is one that makes it easy for you Read More

If you need help creating your Home Inventory, Life Information Document, or system for Tax Time, here are a few options: If you are in Northern Virginia, I occasionally take on a few clients who need help in person, i.e., help them create their Home Inventory including photos and video, their Life Information Document, and/or Tax Time System at their location. I’m available for limited work virtually with clients to help create your Life Information Document or your Home Inventory. If you are in a different part of the country, Read More