Could You Manage Your Loved One’s Affairs?
A quiz to test your knowledge about a loved one’s life
In a crisis, you might find yourself responsible for a thousand tasks related to a loved one’s medical care and financial and household affairs. And you might be astonished by the amount of information that you need to know, but don’t.
If you suddenly found yourself in charge of the affairs of a loved one in an emergency—an injury, a serious illness, death, or any other unforeseen situation—how ready would you be to take on the responsibility? Take our quiz to find out!
Quiz
Instructions: Think about someone you might be called upon to support in a crisis: your spouse, your significant other, your best friend, your business partner—and consider how many of the following questions you’d be able to answer. Give yourself one point for each question to which you know all or part of the answer.
- What are the names of siblings or other family members? Where can you find contact information?
- What are the parents’ names?
- What is the mother’s maiden name?
- Date of birth, including the year? Place of birth?
- Driver’s license number?
- Social security number?
- Location of a set of keys to the house and the car(s)?
- Name of primary-care physician?
- Any allergies to food or medication?
- Is there a will or power of attorney?
- Who is the lawyer?
- Who is the executor of the will?
- Is there a living will, medical power of attorney, or guardianship document?
- Are there any prepaid funeral or cemetery arrangements?
- Wishes regarding burial versus cremation?
- Is there a religious community or faith leader that needs to be notified?
- Does he or she own any real estate?
- What is the combination to the safe, or do you know where to find it?
- What credit cards and bank accounts are there? Is there a safety deposit box?
- What is the ATM password?
- Are there any retirement accounts? Held where, and who is the account manager?
- Are there any other assets available to cover final expenses? Life insurance policies?
- What are the usernames and passwords for online banking, billing, and social-media accounts?
- What are the pets’ names?
- Who is the vet? What arrangements have been made for the pets?
- If he or she was in the military, where is the DD214 (military discharge) form?
If you scored…
21 to 25 points: You’re ready for anything! Your loved one is in good hands.
16 to 20 points: Not bad, but pick up the phone and get to know one another better.
11 to 15 points: You need to do some homework to fill potentially serious gaps in your knowledge.
6 to 10 points: Either your friend is a master spy, or you’re dangerously lacking in curiosity.
1 to 5 points: Are you sure you’re ready to be responsible for someone you know only from Facebook?
But seriously…use this quiz as the starting point for a heart-to-heart conversation, and when an emergency strikes, you’ll be ready to step up. And do your loved ones a favor—make sure they know where to find all the critical information about you! 
Free Assessment
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Thank you for the quiz. This topic is so important. . However it really scares me … i’m 70 in poor health and take care of my 73 yr old disabled (physically & mentally) brother and my two precious cats. There is absolutely NO ONE i can even list as beneficiary on my life insurance policy, much less who could handle all these details of my life. When my late husband was alive none of this was an issue but since his death there’s absolutely no one to help me. . . (after he died i changed beneficiary to a distant cousin in another state but she’s now up in age and in worse health than me .. i need to take her off the policy but don’t know who to replace her with).
I’ve been needing hip replacement for two years but can’t get it because there is no one to look after brother, cats & me.
All this stresses me heavily as i have GOT to get these things settled s.a.p.
I feel and am all alone and feel like the weight of the world is on my back.