Sheppard Law Firm - March 2022

Sheppard Law Firm - March 2022

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Don’t Let Documents Pile Up! Why It’s Time to Spring-Clean

My wife, Jamie, and I have lived in three homes in the past 20 years, and with every new home we move to, I make the same promise: I will keep the garage organized.

can find just about anything in our garage!) However, the time it took their child to clean out the paperwork wasn’t worth saving all of those old documents.

I’ve failed to keep that promise for 20 years.

We all have that drawer, closet, or room in our home that is chaotic and unorganized. No matter how well-meaning we are or how often we organize it, the space just becomes a catch-all for everything that is worth saving but doesn’t have a place. That’s our garage. For instance, we have so many bikes in this garage! As many of you know, I have four children — one who is off at college — and we still have all of their bikes. We even have the bike Jamie bought when we were first married. She would ride around the neighborhood with our oldest, Connor, in the back. She hasn’t used it in a long time, yet there it is, taking up space in our garage. Hopefully by the time you read this newsletter, I will have been inspired to do some tidying. It’s the appropriate season for it. I just might get into the spirit of spring-cleaning and finally live up to the promise I keep making to myself! It’s common to have a little junk in your home, but when it comes to paperwork, it’s better to be organized. This should include how the documents are organized as well as what you keep. This is difficult. You may worry about thieves stealing your personal information, or maybe you have a voice in your head that’s wondering if you will ever need to use it again. However, just as not properly organizing your paperwork and documents can be a pain after your passing, the act of hoarding as many documents as you can is just as detrimental! Years ago, I had a client who kept every piece of documentation that may have had some importance. Upon their passing, their child was left with weeks’ worth of paperwork to sort through. I’m sure my client knew where every document could be found and had an organization system they believed would be beneficial for this process after they passed. (The same can be said for my wife, who

If you take on the challenge of organizing your paperwork this spring, I would encourage you to think of each document like it’s a tax

document. The rule of thumb for these is that they are unnecessary after seven years, which is about as far as the IRS will go if you are audited. After documents are seven years old — or the use or effectiveness is seven years past its date — these items can be shredded to avoid any potential identity theft. As a final tip, consider utilizing your estate planning binder from The Sheppard Law Firm. In it, we have a tab for trust assets, where you can store an up-to-date balance sheet and records of what accounts are active or closed. To be honest with you, I may not get to my garage this spring! Work and my personal life keep me busy. But there is one area of my life I would never let get as unorganized as the garage, and that area involves my personal documents. I hope you’ll take time to organize these this spring. Don’t treat your documents like the junk drawer. –Mike Hill P.S. I’d be remiss if I let International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month pass without recognizing two women who made a huge difference in my life. My mawmaw on my mom’s side was always cooking and taking care of her family. I have so many fun memories with her. And my mawmaw Pearl on my dad’s side was a real stalwart in her community. She managed a movie theater, and I always enjoyed working with her.

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MARCH 2022

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