Estate Organizing
A specialty within the organizing field, estate organizing was pioneered by Jeanne Smith of Exit Stage Right in California. Janine has invested in training from Jeanne in helping people organize for their own estate planning, as well as helping heirs handle the myriad details that arise after the death of a loved one.
Preplanning
If you’d like the peace of mind of knowing that your affairs are in order and that you’ll leave your loved ones with as little financial confusion as possible, Janine can help. She can help you put together a document—a book, really—that gathers together in one place all the information your estate executor will need after you’ve passed away. This book, created by Jeanne Smith, is called Exit Strategies. Once you’ve filled it out (either in paper form or on a CD), you’ll leave behind no mysteries, no missing information, and no questions as to your wishes. Your executor will know where to find everything he or she needs. Janine can walk you through the process of putting together the information, help you find it within your files (or piles, if that’s where you are in your organizational process) and help you put together a document that could be the biggest gift you could possibly give your children or other loved ones.
Assisting estate administrators
If you’re the executor or trustee of a loved one’s will or trust, you almost certainly face a daunting task. In addition to handling the details of insurance, estate taxes and other financial matters, many estate administrators find themselves faced with a physical mess. If your recently departed family member hasn’t left an organized estate, you might find the task overwhelming, particularly since you’re dealing with it during a time of emotional stress.
Janine can help. She can assist you with the paperwork—helping you navigate the deadlines and other administrative details that go hand-in-hand with administering an estate. She can go through your loved one’s papers and find the information you need. She’ll provide you with compassionate, clear-headed and purposeful assistance. And you have the comfort of knowing she’s been trained by one of the best—and is able to call on Jeanne Smith’s considerable experience should any sticky issues emerge.
If you’re facing a cluttered home you’re now responsible for, let Janine (and her team of organizers, if desired) come in and organize the contents, sorting like items together so you and your fellow heirs can easily find what you’d like to keep. Janine can arrange an estate sale or transportation of items to auction or charity and leave the house empty and ready for sale, if that’s what you’d like. You can be involved as much or as little as you desire.
Janine knows how difficult it can be to make decisions during times of grief. She will treat you with compassion and respect for your feelings.