I think the problem, unfortunately, is that it can be a task to keep this all updated over time as things change. Probably should be added to some sort of periodic to-do list to review and update whatever system or documentation is in place.
We make sure we have a hard copy of something for every financial account we own, even if a copy of a statement for a bank/whatever we only deal with online. Several years ago we dealt with those worthless investments, tidied up stuff. Anything current is in the top file (including copies of wills et al), others for old, past years’ stuff, owned stuff (eg TV manuals…) and one for tax returns/materials- edited down to only keep five or so years of all data. Tax preparer has copies. Every year I force myself to go through everything, discarding the year’s nonessential stuff and moving top drawer stuff to another.
My sister has taken on the job of overseeing my father’s finances- he still writes his checks. One year he told me he had walked to city hall (only a few hilly blocks away) and paid his house taxes- this from a man who (correctly) states he is not allowed out of the house (yard). His finances are so simple. The time to get him to do better investing is long past. At least he is not vulnerable to scammers so far- knows how to hang up on them. Interesting how parts of the brain continue to function while others go- my mom died decades ago and my father’s knowledge of any of his grandchildren (much less greats) is totally gone despite photos on a table. btw- don’t want to be there if someone tries to make him do something he doesn’t want to do!!!
Then we meet delightful people in his age group who are totally functional and more in touch with things than I ever care to be. Hear tales of friends’ parents and realize we are on their paths- losing the person they used to be and dealing with a parent who seems like a willful toddler… and who is worse than a teen.
I just did this for my father. I found some things by cross checking his checking account and automatic payments to bills, insurance, even magazines and newspapers. The bank printed out his last 3 months of transactions and that really helped. He had many fewer assets than OP’s father. His phone wasn’t locked so his emails came in through that.
I just filed a request through an insurance clearinghouse looking for any policies he might have had. It’s a long shot, but the form was on the state insurance dept’s webpage so I figured it was worth a shot.
I will now watch his mail to see if any tax statements come in over the next few months.
One insurance company turned down the claim so now I’ll have to fight that.
We got really lucky as the hospital chaplain recommended a funeral director who was very helpful with the paperwork. My father was also active in his church and it handled a lot too. My mother was very happy how it all worked out.
When we are through all of this, we will work on getting my mother’s estate in order so we won’t have to probate that. She has two cars titled to her and a house that she shares with my brother, so we’ll get those into order.
@twoinanddone - if your state has a website for unclaimed property, you should also run your father’s name through it. Sometimes you find an old savings account that way.
Can you get him another phone? It might be a pain to forward his new number to people, but at least he’d be able to contact them.