Family Finances - Handout 2 - Were You Prepared?

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2002 Volunteer Leader Training Guide
What a Spouse Needs to Know About Family Finances
Were You Prepared? – For the Widow(er)
Handout 2

If you are a widow(er), think back on whether you were prepared to handle the financial and legal affairs of your family when you lost your spouse. Use this questionnaire to see how well prepared you were. If you feel that you were adequately prepared on any of the following tasks, check the "yes" column. If not, then check the "no" column.

Yes	No
_____\|_____		1. Did you know how much life insurance your spouse carried?
_____\|_____		2. Were you aware of all the credit obligations your family had?
_____\|_____		3. Were you involved in the overall financial operation of your family?
_____\|_____		4. Did you know where the important papers of your family were kept?
_____\|_____		5. Did you know the type of funeral and burial services your spouse preferred?
_____\|_____		6. Were you familiar with preparing the family’s income tax returns?
_____\|_____		7. Did you know the names and addresses of the family advisors?
_____\|_____		8. Did you know how much your family was worth?
_____\|_____		9. Did you and your spouse periodically review the financial and legal status of your family?
_____\|_____		10. Did you know approximately what your income would be if you lost your spouse?
_____\|_____		11. Did you know how much it costs to run your household?
_____\|_____		12. Did you know what benefits you were entitled to receive if you lost your spouse?

Scoring: Add up the number of checks in the "Yes" column.
10 – 12:	You were well prepared.
7 – 9:	You may have experienced some difficulty in handling the financial and legal affairs of your family.
Under 7:	You really had a struggle, didn’t you?

Prepared by: Originally prepared by Dr. Betty Jeanne Sundling, Retired Extension Family Economics Specialist, January 1989. Revised by Dr. Judith R. Urich, CFP, Extension Family Resource Management Specialist, 2002.

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2002 Volunteer Leader Training Guide What a Spouse Needs to Know About Family Finances Were You Prepared? – For the Widow(er) Handout 2

2002 Volunteer Leader Training Guide
What a Spouse Needs to Know About Family Finances
Were You Prepared? – For the Widow(er)
Handout 2