Over the last 90+ days, my mom, brother and I have been thrown into a series of unfortunate events from funeral planning to legal and financial transfers to notifying every company or institution he had an affiliation with.

We changed emergency contact information, bank account ownership, RRSP and CPP details, and the list goes on.

It became clear, very quickly that there was no centralized space to guide someone step-by-step when their spouse or parent dies. And because of that, we encountered some missteps.

Since his passing, we have scoured through mail, emails and his phone to ensure we knew of all his accounts, pins and passwords, investments, credit cards, and memberships.

We had to learn fast what to do and who to contact because no two organizations communicate with one another. As soon as banks, insurance companies and government agencies learned about his passing, they stopped or amended payments and benefits – some with little to no warning and all of which my mom still relies on.

We were lucky to work with a Funeral Director and other professionals who were kind and provided resources to help my family understand our next steps. But as we took steps to close my dad’s chapter and secure my mom’s future, we became disheartened to learn just how broken our after-life systems really are, which caused unneeded frustration and fears.

As executor, my mom is the one who needs to talk to everyone. She is inundated with reminders of his loss from multiple calls per day confirming my dad’s passing to fixing clerical error after clerical error. She is the official name on his file and as much as my brother and I want to help and take some tasks off her plate, we don’t have the authority to. No one realizes how brutal it is for my mom to say over and over again that her husband of 45 years is … just gone.

Losing my dad kickstarted me thinking about what would happen if I was ‘just gone’ one day.

I know my partner would carry a heavy burden trying to figure out what to do first with my business if anything were to happen to me.

Being a business owner comes with different processes and a lot falls on the entrepreneur, especially sole proprietors. So, I knew him trying to process this loss plus figure out how to access my business bank accounts, invoices due, customer emails, etc. would push him beyond his capacity.

There had to be a better way!

I began thinking about how I could help reduce the chaos and overwhelm.

• How could I make it easier for him to access my business assets and income?

• How could I protect him from debt carryover and ensure he could seamlessly access my insurance policies and investments?

• Who would notify my clients and close my business?

• Who could help him manage this while he was grieving and planning my funeral?

This journey has led me to the present where I have seen and experienced the necessity for a centralized space where individual and business-related services, educational resources and tools are available to support and guide people like my mom, my brother and myself.

Because death, illness, accidents, disease, injuries, and age happen – whether we are planned for them or not.

My name is Jodi Laking and I am Your Business Executor.

I have been a business consultant for over 10 years and this article marks the launch of my next business – Your Business Executor – which focuses on helping business owners and their families plan and prepare for their future and the future of their business. I want to …

• Work with business owners to organize and clearly document their accounts, investments, partnerships and affiliations, insurance policies, benefits plans, and other operational and administrative policies in one central place for their next-of-kin to easily access and follow.

• Meet with business owners and their spouse, business partner, children, and other next of kin to guide them through the processes their next of kin will follow to access their business financials, assets and policies after they are gone or incapacitated.

• Provide a directory of tools and resources for individuals and business owners to learn about wills, probate, estate planning, legacy planning, and succession planning.

• Offer a customized, guided planning tool – The Dahlias Planner – to help business owners document their plans, wishes, and operational business details in case of a catastrophic event.

My goal is to offer support to business owners, spouses, families and other survivors to help reduce stress and overwhelm during a chaotic and catastrophic time.

I want to ensure that the assets you have worked hard to build and acquire be accounted for and secured by your next of kin.

I don’t want your story to be a part of a $2 trillion unplanned mistake.

Interested in working together?

I’d love to work with you! I’m currently looking to connect with a pilot group of entrepreneurs who want assistance to organize their business assets for their spouse or next-of-kin in the case of an unfortunate event. We will be working together through a guided planner where we bring all your business information, contact details, operations, accounts, etc. together in one, centralized place. There is no fee to participate. Registration is required.