How to help our life partner manage money in our absence

Published: March 8, 2022 at 6:00 am

Last Updated on March 8, 2022 at 8:25 am

In this article, we discuss how to set up a guide for our life partner or spouse to help them manage money in our absence. Let us call this the continuity kit. Absence here not only refers to the death of the main money manager but also refers to situations like job transfers, promotions (with less time to manage money) etc.

We shall consider a typical scenario where only one partner takes care of all money matters even if the other partner is earning. There are also many households (including mine) where the other partner knows nothing about investing, paying bills, taxes etc and worse is simply not interested in learning. We shall consider this situation.

The shocking death of Shane Warne is a harsh example of the uncertainty of life. On Feb 28 2022, he tweeted, “Operation shred has started (10 days in) & the goal by July is to get back to this shape from a few years ago!” Often life has a plan of its unknown.

Naturally, we cannot account for all uncertainties but a half-full glass is any day better than an empty one.


Join over 32,000 readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!
🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our robo-advisory tool & courses! 🔥

Continuity kit considerations

  1. It should be available online and offline. Nobody cares where you do it – on Evernote or Google sheets or a 40-pages notebook. You can type it on notepad and print it. What matters is accessibility and easy instructions.
  2. There is no template to fill in either! Your life cannot fit into my template and vice versa. Let us create our own using common sense.
  3. Today, your partner may act disinterested and irritated if you discuss this with them, but they will locate it if/when the time comes. So no point over fretting.
  4. The inactive partner should have primary access to the document at all times.
  5. There should be no need to update it regularly unless there is a major change.
  6. A trusted SEBI registered fee-only financial advisor should be mentioned in the document as the “go-to” person for all clarifications. A friend from the office can help with getting settlements from there. Many of my father’s friends continued to help my mother years after his death wrt pay commission arrears etc.
    • Ideally, it would be best if you engage a fee-only advisor and force your partner to sit with you for a session (after the plan is created). Bribe your partner if necessary! This is crucial because they will have at least a partial memory of how your finances are being managed.
  7. A continuity kit is not a will. A will is part of the continuity kit.
  8. The partner should be made a “second holder” in all accounts where possible and not as a nominee. Since the second holder will have proper KYC credentials, the transmission will be much easier than nomination.
  9. If you wish to apportion assets among family, they can be made second holders in different accounts depending on your comfort. Doing this is the equivalent of an “open will”

Continuity Kit Contents

Listed in approximate order of need.

  1. Location of emergency cash stash at home
  2. Location of health insurance documents and cards. In the case of group insurance, contact details of office personnel.
  3. List of bank accounts and location of bank passbook and debit cards
  4. Contact details of SEBI Registered fee-only advisor and trusted friend whose investing compass is aligned with yours. Else some old uncle will offer unsolicited “guidance” and upset the apple cart.
  5. List of credit cards held with links to find out the balance to be paid.
  6. List of other EMIs to pay. Insured loans like home loans are not an issue upon death, but the bank has to be notified. If you have some stash of cash held that can be used to clear off a loan, indicate the same.
  7. Location of Pan Card, Aadhaar card, License and other forms of ID.
  8. Location of important documents like EB card, Water tax, property tax, pension documents with information on when and how to pay.
  9. Term Insurance and other life insurance documents with instructions on how to claim (forms are available on insurer sites). For group insurance, contact details of office personnel.
  10. List of monthly/periodic payments to be made with websites: Internet bill, Telephone bill, EB bill, Water tax, Property Tax, health insurance premium, school fees etc.
  11. Information on how to apply for a death certificate.
  12. List of offices to be immediately intimated on death: Bank Pension branch, Home Loan disbursing office etc.
  13. Information on how to apply for a legal heir.
  14. Use a password manager with a master password that cannot be stored. Ask your partner to set the password and check from time to time if she remembers it. Better still each time you log in, ask for it
  15. The “forgot password” option can always be used but they will need to access your email and phone. So use only one email (with password mentioned in the continuity kit) and ensure they know how to unlock your phone! <= Thanks to my friend Rajkumar for this. When Rajkumar’s father suddenly died, no one knew the passcode for his phone. Thankfully his young grandson remembered!
  16. List of all short term financial goals (< 10 years away) and investments associated with each of them.
  17. List of all long term financial goals (> 10 years away) and investments associated with each of them. That session will the fee-only advisor may come in handy here! If all investments are already tagged to goals or at least listed and available with the fee-only advisor, a major headache is taken care of.
  18. Link to Cams Karvy Consolidated MF Account to get all mutual fund holdings via registered email (15 is important!). This may or may not retrieve Demat holding as well. So better to include information to get the data from CDSL. Zerodha has a helpful article.
  19. If you are tracking all investments in a single portal then its login details.
  20. Information regarding other investments: PPF, RDs, FDs, real estate, stock options etc.
  21. If there is a HUF in place, the advisor or a CA can help. Ashal Jauhari from the Facebook group Asan Ideas for Wealth can also help with this or any of the above aspects.
  22. If there is a will in place then instructions on how to implement it.
  23. Some general instructions on the transmission on units or money. Some require just KYC details of the nominee; some require a legal heir (property, pension annuity) etc. Some research and documentation on this will be immensely helpful.
  24. Details of additional responsibilities or sources of income.

How to invest the assets to generate constant income or inflation-protected income (depending on the asset value)? How to plan for the future of children if they are young? How to handle outstanding debt?  These are fairly complex questions for someone who has no experience in money management. Therefore it is best left to a fee-only advisor. All the more reason, why you should engage one today and set up the foundation.

That is as far as my thinking takes me. If I have left something out, please do let me know. Each person’s circumstance is different and the kit will change accordingly. A set format will not work. creating the kit is nothing more than common sense. Please do this immediately!

Do share this article with your friends using the buttons below.

🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our courses, robo-advisory tool and exclusive investor circle! 🔥& join our community of 5000+ users!
Use our Robo-advisory Tool for a start-to-finish financial plan! More than 1,000 investors and advisors use this!
New Tool! => Track your mutual funds and stock investments with this Google Sheet!
We also publish monthly equity mutual funds, debt and hybrid mutual funds, index funds and ETF screeners and momentum, low-volatility stock screeners.
Follow Freefincal on Google News
Follow Freefincal on Google News
Subscribe to the freefincal Youtube Channel. Subscribe button courtesy: Vecteezy.
Subscribe to the freefincal Youtube Channel.
Follow freefincal on WhatsApp Channel
Follow freefincal on WhatsApp
Podcast: Let's Get RICH With PATTU! Every single Indian CAN grow their wealth! 
Listen to the Lets Get Rich with Pattu Podcast
Listen to the Let's Get Rich with Pattu Podcast
You can watch podcast episodes on the OfSpin Media Friends YouTube Channel.
Lets Get RICH With PATTU podcast on YouTube
Let's Get RICH With PATTU podcast on YouTube.
🔥Now Watch Let's Get Rich With Pattu தமிழில் (in Tamil)! 🔥
  • Do you have a comment about the above article? Reach out to us on Twitter: @freefincal or @pattufreefincal
  • Have a question? Subscribe to our newsletter using the form below.
  • Hit 'reply' to any email from us! We do not offer personalized investment advice. We can write a detailed article without mentioning your name if you have a generic question.

Join over 32,000 readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!

About The Author

Pattabiraman editor freefincalDr M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has over ten years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter(X), Linkedin, or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY investors. (2) Gamechanger for young earners. (3) Chinchu Gets a Superpower! for kids. He has also written seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation promoting unbiased, commission-free investment advice.
Our flagship course! Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions! More than 3,000 investors and advisors are part of our exclusive community! Get clarity on how to plan for your goals and achieve the necessary corpus no matter the market condition is!! Watch the first lecture for free!  One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos! Reduce fear, uncertainty and doubt while investing! Learn how to plan for your goals before and after retirement with confidence.
Our new course!  Increase your income by getting people to pay for your skills! More than 700 salaried employees, entrepreneurs and financial advisors are part of our exclusive community! Learn how to get people to pay for your skills! Whether you are a professional or small business owner who wants more clients via online visibility or a salaried person wanting a side income or passive income, we will show you how to achieve this by showcasing your skills and building a community that trusts and pays you! (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos!   
Our new book for kids: “Chinchu Gets a Superpower!” is now available!
Both boy and girl version covers of Chinchu gets a superpower
Both the boy and girl-version covers of "Chinchu Gets a superpower".
Most investor problems can be traced to a lack of informed decision-making. We made bad decisions and money mistakes when we started earning and spent years undoing these mistakes. Why should our children go through the same pain? What is this book about? As parents, what would it be if we had to groom one ability in our children that is key not only to money management and investing but to any aspect of life? My answer: Sound Decision Making. So, in this book, we meet Chinchu, who is about to turn 10. What he wants for his birthday and how his parents plan for it, as well as teaching him several key ideas of decision-making and money management, is the narrative. What readers say!
Feedback from a young reader after reading Chinchu gets a Superpower (small version)
Feedback from a young reader after reading Chinchu gets a Superpower!
Must-read book even for adults! This is something that every parent should teach their kids right from their young age. The importance of money management and decision making based on their wants and needs. Very nicely written in simple terms. - Arun.
Buy the book: Chinchu gets a superpower for your child!
How to profit from content writing: Our new ebook is for those interested in getting side income via content writing. It is available at a 50% discount for Rs. 500 only!
Do you want to check if the market is overvalued or undervalued? Use our market valuation tool (it will work with any index!), or get the Tactical Buy/Sell timing tool!
We publish monthly mutual fund screeners and momentum, low-volatility stock screeners.
About freefincal & its content policy. Freefincal is a News Media Organization dedicated to providing original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on mutual funds, stocks, investing, retirement and personal finance developments. We do so without conflict of interest and bias. Follow us on Google News. Freefincal serves more than three million readers a year (5 million page views) with articles based only on factual information and detailed analysis by its authors. All statements made will be verified with credible and knowledgeable sources before publication. Freefincal does not publish paid articles, promotions, PR, satire or opinions without data. All opinions will be inferences backed by verifiable, reproducible evidence/data. Contact information: letters {at} freefincal {dot} com (sponsored posts or paid collaborations will not be entertained)
Connect with us on social media
Our publications

You Can Be Rich Too with Goal-Based Investing

You can be rich too with goal based investingPublished by CNBC TV18, this book is meant to help you ask the right questions and seek the correct answers, and since it comes with nine online calculators, you can also create custom solutions for your lifestyle! Get it now.
Gamechanger: Forget Startups, Join Corporate & Still Live the Rich Life You Want Gamechanger: Forget Start-ups, Join Corporate and Still Live the Rich Life you wantThis book is meant for young earners to get their basics right from day one! It will also help you travel to exotic places at a low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earner.

Your Ultimate Guide to Travel

Travel-Training-Kit-Cover-new This is an in-depth dive into vacation planning, finding cheap flights, budget accommodation, what to do when travelling, and how travelling slowly is better financially and psychologically, with links to the web pages and hand-holding at every step. Get the pdf for Rs 300 (instant download)