What Should Go in a Family Emergency Binder?
If something happened to you tomorrow, could your family find your life insurance policy? Would they know which bank holds your accounts, who your attorney is, or what you want for your funeral? For most families, the honest answer is no. A family emergency binder fixes that. It's one place, usually a three-ring binder kept in a safe or fireproof box, where everything important is written down.
Here's what belongs in it.
1. Who to call
Start with the people your family will need first: your attorney, accountant, financial advisor, insurance agent, doctors, employer or former employer, and the person you've named as executor. Include phone numbers and what each one handles.
2. Your accounts
List every bank, credit union, retirement account, investment account and pension, with the institution's name and how to reach it. You don't need to write full account numbers in an online tool. A printed binder kept somewhere safe is the right place for those details.
3. Insurance
Life, health, Medicare supplement, long-term care, home, auto and any policy through work. Note the company, the policy holder and where the paper policy is. Families miss life insurance more often than you'd think.
4. Property
Your home and any land: where the deed is, the county parcel number, the mortgage company. Also vehicles and titles, storage units, safe deposit boxes and where their keys are.
5. Bills and debts
What gets paid each month and how: utilities, credit cards, loans, subscriptions. This keeps the lights on and stops automatic payments from draining an account after you're gone.
6. Legal papers
Where your will, trust, power of attorney and health care directive are kept, and who has copies.
7. Digital life
Your email, phone, computer and online accounts. Write down how your family can get in, or where that information is kept. A phone nobody can unlock can hold up everything else.
8. Final wishes
Burial or cremation, a church or funeral home you prefer, songs or readings, and anything already paid for. Families find real comfort in knowing they did what you wanted.
9. Your family story
Many people add a family tree and a few memories. It turns a stack of paperwork into something your grandchildren will keep.
The hard part is starting
Most people mean to do this and never get around to it, because a blank binder is overwhelming. That's why we built The Family File. It asks simple questions one at a time, reads each page aloud, and prints everything into a tabbed binder for your safe. Our first 100 families get it free. See how it works at getfamilyfile.com.