Before You Depart:
Preparing For The Unexpected

Greetings! We made a few changes to the front page that we think will help people understand YouDeparted. Take a look: http://www.youdeparted.com.

The story about us in Reuters I mentioned yesterday is starting to be picked up around the world! Thousands of visitors are coming from every corner of the Earth, including listeners of the radio station LAfm in Columbia, readers of MYTECH in Italy, 20minutos in Spain, Reuters in India, iTnews in Australia, and Times Colonist in Canada, just to mention a few!

The desire to protect one’s family is universal, and no matter where our members come from, they undoubtedly want to be sure the people they leave behind will be alright. An unexpected death can shatter a family and leave them struggling to pick up the pieces for years, so we encourage everyone to be prepared, wherever you are.

We created YouDeparted to enable people to prevent the confusion and devastating financial crises families often face when an unexpected event or death occurs. Take some time to really think about what your family will need if something happens to you. Then consider how much easier the transition will be for them if you have created a set of instructions to guide them, and left behind your final wishes and messages of reassurance and advice. Our service is a great place to get everything organized and ready in case the unexpected does happen.

Last week Collin had an interview with Jill Serjeant from Reuters, and we were excited to see YouDeparted featured in their Lifestyle section today!

Here are some excerpts from the article:

• A new Web site www.YouDeparted.com delivers all your last “e-wishes” to family and friends after you pass away, as well as letting them know where to find important documents like passports and insurance policies.

• In the old days, the trusted family lawyer could be relied upon to handle much of the business of dying. But as modern life gets more complex and families split up or move, death needs more organization, said Collin Harris, 51, the Nevada entrepreneur who devised YouDeparted.com.

• “There are 70 million baby boomers in the United States alone. The Web site is a nice organizer for you to put useful information, and when you die it is released to designated family and friends,” said Harris.

• “I got to thinking about all the things I do in my life that my wife wouldn’t even know about — like where to turn off the water outside in the winter. My brother lives in Thailand but has property and storage over here. Who would know all those little details if he suddenly died?”

• The Web site utilizes encryption programs used by the U.S. military to ensure security for what is a personal electronic safe deposit box. After you pass away, designated family members can unlock the account with a secret key to retrieve all the information and messages.

Today the New York Times ran an article warning people to be wary of individuals who claim to be experts in financial planning and senior advising. According to the article, thousands of individuals take short courses which award them official sounding titles such as “Certified Senior Adviser.” They then advertise their expertise and make massive profits off unsuspecting seniors by selling them annuity packages on behalf of major insurers.

Here are a few excerpts from the article:

Many of these titles can be earned in just a few days from for-profit businesses, and sound similar to established credentials, like certified financial planner, that require years of study, difficult tests and extensive background checks.

The prize for these insurers and sales agents is a piece of the $15 trillion held by Americans 65 and older, the largest pool of assets ever amassed by an aging population, according to the Government Accountability Office.

”The insurers are happy to turn a blind eye to what salesmen are doing, as long as they make a sale,” said Minnesota’s attorney general, Lori Swanson, who is suing several companies, including Allianz, contending their products are inappropriate.

“There are limitless combinations of words getting invented to convey an expertise in senior finances,” said the Massachusetts securities regulator, William F. Galvin. “Most of them seem designed to trick seniors into listening to swindlers.”

Do your research!
Older investors are wise to seek financial security, but must be wary of individuals trying to capitalize on their fears. In searching for an adviser, do a significant amount of research and thoroughly check references. Talk to friends and family and see if they can introduce you to someone they trust. Research credentials to determine if their “expert” status is actually based on extensive training.

The team here at YouDeparted wishes all of our fellow Americans a happy Independence Day! We wish you and your families all the best and hope you enjoy the holiday.