NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)--July 9, 2002--Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education--The last thing you want to have happen when you die is burdening your family with all kinds of financial, legal and logistical problems. Here are 10 tips from David Woods, president of the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) to make your dying a little less trying for your loved ones.

1. Have a will and update it periodically. The will designates executors, guardians and trustees, which are all important to review periodically. Your executor's first task is to locate your will, and you can help by keeping the original in a fairly obvious place. A good start is to put your will in an envelope on which you have typed your name and the word "Will." You should then place the envelope in a fireproof metal box, file cabinet or home safe. An alternative is to put it in a safe deposit box.

2. Have health care directive (living will). A living will is a medical directive written in advance that sets forth your preference for treatment in the event of your inability to direct care. The document may be drafted to include when the directive should be initiated and who has the decision-making responsibility to withdraw or withhold treatment.

3. Have a power of attorney. You should name your spouse or a close friend or relative to have power of attorney for you. Whoever you designate will be authorized to manage your affairs, typically financial ones, if you're not able to handle them yourself.

4. Have life insurance. Purchase adequate life insurance for yourself now to help your family avoid financial pitfalls later. Having the right amount of coverage will help ensure
that the dreams you have for your family will be realized even if you're not there to witness them. Determining how much life insurance to buy can be complicated, so it often helps to seek assistance from an insurance agent or other financial advisor.

5. Review beneficiary designations for your various financial accounts (retirement, life insurance - both personal and through work). Check annually to ensure those named in your insurance policies, 401Ks and the like are still relevant to your needs and wishes. Many people are under the misconception that if they have a will, they are covered. This is not true - beneficiaries designated in documents generally fall outside the scope of a will so it is critical that you keep your records updated.

6. Specify where important financial account information is located (savings, retirement, college funding, mortgage, insurance). It may sound like an obvious thing to do, but few people keep a list of their important records, and fewer still could name them all quickly in an impromptu quiz. Keep a master list and review it annually. Include bank accounts, mortgages, retirement plans, health care plans, investments, creditors etc.

7. Specify where important non-financial information and valuables are located (marriage certificates, birth certificate, titles/deeds for the house/cars, passports, jewelry, safe deposit box key, items in storage facilities)

8. Specify your final arrangements (burial or cremation, where you want to be buried, whether you want to be an organ donor)

9. Have a list of professionals who assist you with your family's legal and financial affairs (insurance agent, attorney, accountant, etc)

10. Explain to heirs how your trust works. Trusts are often a useful legal and estate-planning device for protecting assets from estate taxes and providing a vehicle to be sure survivors gets proper administrative and investment advice and counsel. An attorney is the best source of information about the proper use of trusts and whether one would be appropriate for you.