Disclose Your Finances As Duty To Your Family

With the pandemic fostering an air of uncertainty around us, it is time you disclosed all your investments, accounts and assets as well as your liabilities to your family members and also made a will

- Jyotika Sood

Shelling from across the border has been an unusual routine for the last two decades in the life of Lt Col (Retd) Vivek Sharma. There was nothing more indefinite about life than the definite possibility of falling dead – at least till the retired army man encountered something that took the world by surprise last year. A year and nearly 35 lakh deaths later, the Covid-19 pandemic has redefined uncertainty in an altogether different way to the world, stoking fear and striking alarm bells.

The damage has not been confined to the loss of lives and livelihoods alone, the collateral damage has been colossal, inflicting countless households. Most relatives of over 3 lakh Covid victims in India found themselves completely in the lurch after the main earning members of the families passed away suddenly. Even before the pain of the loss could sink in, a staggering financial crisis stared at them, and most couldn’t find a way out of the wreck because they were never part of the financial planning of the breadwinner.

Ignorance is not always bliss, indeed. Jolted awake by the reality, Lt Col (Retd) Sharma called a meeting of his family members on a Sunday afternoon. The retired couple was settled in Chandigarh, while their two daughters were working from Bengaluru and Hyderabad. He sat down with a sheaf of documents, comprising all his bank account details, insurance policies, investments, and properties.

He shared every single detail of his assets with the family members. Over the next few days, he settled all issues over nominees for bank accounts, lockers, and other investments, and distributed his properties with complete clarity between his wife and the daughters.