Getting your finances neatly organized is critically important if you care about your family and other heirs. Missing documents, records or stock and bond certificates can be hazardous to your family's wealth - in addition to being frustrating and time-consuming experiences.

Some of the best organizing tools are free. For example, Merrill Lynch offers a document you can download and use to jot down key personal contacts, location of important papers and other items (http:askmerrill.ml.com/publish/marketing_centers/articles/essentialdocuments). More free planning tools can be found on the Web site of Ronald Roge, a financial planner (http://rwroge.com/financial_planning.html).

Here are some thoughts from lawyers, accountants and organizing experts on how to be better organized, including what documents to keep, where to keep them and for how long.

Start by compiling a list of key people to call including relatives, physicians and lawyers, in case of emergency. Consider photocopying all your credit cards and other important items you carry in your wallet. If you lose your wallet or it's stolen, you'll know exactly what's missing and how to contact the credit-card companies. Store this list in a safe place at home with other details, including the location of any unused gift certificates you have received, as well as your point totals for frequent-flier or other similar programs.

Make sure to tell your family and advisers where you keep important documents such as your will, health-care proxy, living will, insurance policies, household inventory, deeds to property and important tax records. Be sure to include the location of your bank safe-deposit box - and where you have stored the key.

Lawyers constantly marvel at how many highly intelligent people don't have a will - and at how many people who do have wills haven't updated them for decades. Remember, when someone dies without a will - or without an up-to-date will - it can lead to lengthy family feuds, even over seemingly insignificant details.

Consider giving the original copy of your will to your lawyer or some other trusted adviser, along with the location of key documents. Don't put the only signed copy in your safe-deposit box; your heirs will need to get the will quickly.

Take the time to make sure you have a well-written power of attorney, and pick someone you trust completely. Check with your lawyer to make sure that any power-of-attorney form you sign does precisely what you want it to do. For example, if you want the person holding your power-of-attorney to be able to make gifts of money or other property on your behalf, say so in writing. If you move to another state, make sure to get a thorough financial check-up from a pro just to make sure you don't need to make important revisions.

And remember: Sudden illness - or accidents - can strike at any age, making it important that someone be authorized to manage your finances.

With all the swings in financial markets these days, it's important to update your finances regularly. One area many people over look: U.S. savings bonds. They sound simple, but they bear close watching. For example, many investors own savings bonds that stopped paying interest years ago. The Treasury estimates that, as of April 30, savings bonds worth around $15.1 billion had stopped earning interest and were still in the hands of investors.

To learn about the status of your bonds, go to http://savingsbonds.gov. There you'll find tables that will help you figure out whether your bonds are still earning interest, or for how long you can expect them to earn interest.

Most people should keep their federal income-tax returns for at least three years. But accountants and lawyers often recommend that clients keep returns for at least six years. That's because the IRS can go back that far if you didn't report taxable income you should have reported and it's more than 25% of the income shown on your return. There's no time limit if you file a return that is false or fraudulent, or if you don't bother filing a return at all.

Some supporting documents need to be stored for much longer periods. For example, keep detailed records of how much you paid for your stocks, bonds, mutual-fund shares and other investments you haven't yet sold. When you sell them, you will need those records to establish what's known as your "cost basis." Also be sure to keep records of what you paid for your home and the cost of any improvements. When you do pitch old returns, make sure to shred them carefully so that they don't fall into the wrong hands.

Direct Deposit. Whenever possible, have your paycheck, dividends, interest, income-tax refund and other income deposited directly into your account rather than having checks sent to you in the mail.

Paper Certificates. If you still have stock or bond certificates lying around, consider turning them over to your stock broker or the transfer agent, and having them transformed into electronic digits. That way you don't have to worry about losing the certificates.

Filing Taxes Online. Filing electronically usually means speedier refunds and greater accuracy.