Advice

One business item first: My plan for child care is to find someone who can be at the house with the kids from 3-7pm Monday to Friday, and can drive. (I'll get the kids organized and out the door in the mornings.) Any references or recommendations would be very welcome.

You've probably taken your own lessons from this whole thing, but I'll offer up some advice on the practical side. None of this is especially novel -- it's just worth reinforcing, especially for those of us way up in our 40's and beyond...

• Make sure your wills are up to date. We did them ourselves 10 years ago, just using some software program I bought. I think Rachel's will work out fine, but I did see that our chosen set of guardians for the kids from 10 years ago no longer live in the same town as described, nor are they married to each other any more. So if I'd died at the same time this could have been a problem. (Obviously I'm going to update mine now in more detail, with a professional.)
• It would be good to think through your own funeral/burial preferences in advance, and ideally write them down. Think of it as a slightly morbid present to your spouse/loved ones: they won't have to try to figure it out on short notice some day.
• I'd been getting updates yearly from Social Security, reports showing how much I'd get if blah blah blah. Who pays attention to something so far away? As it turns out your dependent kids can receive benefits until they're 18 should you die, and for us it looks like that will be a reasonable chunk of money each month (to at least pay for child care, and then some). Check that report the next time it comes to you, and dial it into your plans.
• How much life insurance you need will depend, but I'm sure the answer isn't "zero" for very many of you. Think about whether what you've got would really meet the needs of those you would leave behind. (The kids and I will be OK.)
• Among the many things I've done this week is to get all the bills, payments, accounts, credit cards, titles, etc. put in my name, and to cancel others no longer needed . I don't think there's any way around this, but it would probably be useful to keep a list of all of these (with account numbers and phone #'s) somewhere. If there's a lawyer in the audience with a better idea, let's hear it.

There. Cheery, huh? Spend a little time on it anyway, just for peace of mind. (Mine, at a minimum...)

Pat