Are You Prepared for the Worst?

Over the last couple of weeks I have been reminded at how important it is to be prepared for the worst.

On Grand Final morning we were woken at 5am to the crashing noise of some young thugs smashing in our glass backdoor.  30 seconds later we were up, but they had already stolen our keys and driven away in one of our vehicles.  Thankfully, the damage was minimal as all our "tools of trade" (notebooks, iPhones and iPad) were in the study out of sight.  But with so many people now running businesses from home or working flexi hours at home are you implementing good security measures?
If you are not using a cloud system then you need to regularly be backing up on a portable drive and store this in a secure place (not on your desk next to your notebook!).
Have you thought about cloud storage?  There are many to choose from (Google, DropBox, Microsoft etc) but you should check that the security of these are also adequate for your needs.  My IT guy also suggests to back up these on a say monthly basis - just in case.
Have you got adequate insurance to cover your Tools of Trade?  If you are an employee working flexi hours then you should be covered under your Employer's policy.  But if you are running a business from home, make sure you have the right insurance.
Get in the habit of better security systems.  It might seem obvious but packing away your valuables and leaving them out of sight might just buy you enough time to have them not stolen.

Then there is the other worst case scenario.... This week a lovely client of ours passed away suddenly.  Luckily for his family his affairs were very much in order.

Are you prepared for death or trauma?

Estate Planning doesn't need to be difficult but it does require a small investment of time.  The more complex your affairs (business or investment structures, broken marriages) then the more crucial it is to ensure that everything is dealt with before you pass away.  A Will is a must.  And whilst there are a number of cheap online Wills I always recommend you seek advice from a lawyer, particularly if your affairs are a little more complex.
Do you have adequate insurance in place?  And who is the beneficiary?  Recently we reviewed a new client's insurance policy and discovered his ex-wife was the beneficiary.  He was extremely thankful we picked this up and had it changed immediately.
If you run a company or a self managed super fund there are certain procedures that are required to take place immediately after death, (or if you are on life support), to avoid penalties.  Having a discussion with your accountant and the other directors/trustees is always a good idea, so that you can plan and know exactly what needs to happen and when.

Death isn't age discriminate so the sooner you have things in place the better. Tomorrow might just be too late.