Senior News Line
Too Much Information?
by Matilda Charles

I thought of my late father as I thumbed through the book. He would have loved it, and he would have grabbed a pen and immediately started filling in the blanks. And I would have had to stop him.

"The Senior Organizer" (Health Communications, Inc.) is a seemingly ideal way for seniors to organize all their important information:

. Emergency contacts

. Medical data, prescriptions, doctor name, copy of health card

. Personal contacts

. Credit-card numbers with PINs or password

. Retirement, Social Security, pension benefits

. Bank accounts, annuities, CDs, mutual funds complete with account number and password or PIN

. List of valuable personal property such as jewelry and art

. Assets and liabilities

It's like having a file cabinet at your fingertips. Which is not necessarily a good idea. Granted, there's a suggestion that the confidential legal and financial pages be copied, filled out and kept elsewhere. But that kind of defeats the purpose of having it all in one place.

"The Senior Organizer" was created out of love for a senior parent, but I think it misses the mark in some serious ways. I think it's more helpful to caregivers, who often need to lay hands immediately on a piece of information, but who also shouldn't be allowed to access other types of information.

The book comes in two versions: a paperback (you can't add pages to it) and the three-volume binder set (you can put the confidential binder elsewhere.)

But I'm still concerned about the amount of information that can be put on the pages, even the non-confidential ones. Right on page 1 is a place to put your name, address, date of birth and Social Security number. In the wrong hands, that information could do a lot of damage. My father would have unknowingly filled it in immediately.

Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot personally answer reader questions. Do not send any material requiring return mail. Write to her in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL32853-6475, or send e-mail to letters.kfws@hearstsc.com.

(c) 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.