When I am no Longer Here

Every family has a hidden weakness.

Sometimes it is not a lack of money, food, property or possessions. Sometimes the weakness is much simpler: too much knowledge is concentrated in one person.

One person knows where the important documents are kept. One person understands the bank accounts. One person knows how the house works. One person knows which bills must be paid, which relatives should be contacted, which medicines are needed, which repairs are urgent, which suppliers can be trusted, how the children's education is organized, where the insurance papers are stored and what should happen when something goes wrong.

As long as that person is present, the family may function smoothly.

But what happens when that person is suddenly no longer available?

Death is only one possibility. A person may become seriously ill, suffer a disabling accident, migrate to another country, become separated from the family, lose employment, face a prolonged financial crisis or simply become unable to perform the responsibilities they once carried.

The uncomfortable truth is that many families prepare their finances, houses and possessions more carefully than they prepare their people.

This book begins with a simple question:

What would happen to your family if you were no longer able to do the things you normally do?

The question is not intended to create fear. It is intended to reveal dependence.

A strong family is not one in which one person does everything perfectly. It is one in which knowledge is distributed, responsibilities are shared, essential systems are documented, practical skills are taught and more than one person can keep the household functioning.

That is the foundation of family continuity.