Resources / Your own affairs
What to put in your in-case-of-death file
One place your family can turn to if you are gone or cannot speak for yourself. Gather these, keep them together, and tell one person where they are.
Legal documents
- Will and any updates to it
- Durable power of attorney
- Healthcare directive / living will
- Trust documents
- Birth certificate and Social Security card
Money and accounts
- Bank and investment account list
- Retirement accounts and pensions
- Life insurance policies
- Debts and loans
- Recent tax returns
Home and property
- Property deed or lease
- Mortgage and loan papers
- Vehicle titles
- Home and auto insurance
- Safe or safe-deposit box location and key
Personal and final wishes
- Funeral or burial wishes
- A letter to your family
- Key contacts (attorney, advisor, agent)
- Where passwords and digital accounts live
- Pet care instructions
Say where it is, not just what it is. A binder no one can find helps no one. Tell at least one trusted person where this lives and how to open it.
Keep passwords out of plain paper. A written list of logins in a drawer is a risk. Note where your passwords live, in a manager or a sealed record, rather than the passwords themselves.
Printed and kept where you will see it, this does its job. If you would rather it live somewhere your whole family can reach, that is what MyLifePapers is for.
Common questions
Paper binder or digital?
Either can work; what matters is that it is complete, current, and reachable by the right person. Paper is easy to find but easy to lose or read. A locked file is safe but only if someone can get in. The ideal is one place that is both protected and shareable with the family you choose.
Who should know it exists?
At least one person you trust completely, and ideally whoever you have named as executor. They do not need to see the contents now, only to know it exists and how to reach it when the time comes.