Ask the Expert: What an executor needs

I've agreed to be the executor for a very dear friend. She's in her 70s and has no immediate family. I have her power of attorney and health proxy, the keys to her house and the house alarm code. I know her attorney. But I don't know where she banks, or her computer passwords. I know I should ask her to make a list for me. What exactly should I ask her to put on it?

A great question, and not only for executors. Your essential financial information probably will fit on a single page. If your house is destroyed by a fire or a flood, that list will help you reconstruct your records; if you die, it's indispensable to your survivors. Keep one copy, telling your spouse where it is; and give another to your adult child, sibling or best friend, one of whom is probably also your executor.

As your friend's executor, you'll be responsible for settling her estate after her death -- locating her assets, paying outstanding bills and taxes, managing her investments and answering her mail until everything is distributed to her heirs. You need a list of her savings, checking, mutual fund and brokerage accounts and insurance policies, including account numbers and the names of the financial institutions where they're located, and where, exactly, she keeps the account documents. (For example, "in the filing cabinet in my study," or "the shoe boxes on the top shelf of the hall closet.")

The list should include the number and location of her safe deposit box and where to find the key; passwords to her email and financial accounts; and the names and telephone numbers of her lawyer, doctors, tax accountant, broker, insurance agent and financial planner.

The bottom line Give your executor a list of all essential financial information -- and keep a copy for yourself.

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