Legacy binder checklist: what your family needs to know (USA)

The quick version

1. List every account, policy, property and regular bill, with the provider and a reference, never a full number or password.
2. Write down where the originals are kept: your will, deeds, policies and ID.
3. Record your wishes, and who should look after children, adults you care for and pets.
4. Keep the binder safe, tell someone you trust where it is and review it every year.

Dates to review

• Binder last reviewed
• Next yearly review
• Will last updated
• Beneficiary designations checked
• Passport expiration
• Driver's license renewal
• Home insurance renewal
• Auto insurance renewal

Set a yearly review date and add renewal dates as policies and documents come up for renewal.

How to section your binder

What this binder is for

Case Ready is a document organization tool. This binder gathers what the people you trust would need to know if you were ill or after your death, in one place.

• Write down where things are, not secrets
• Keep it somewhere safe and tell someone you trust where it is
• Review it once a year

What this binder is not

Case Ready:

• Is not a will and does not replace one
• Is not a power of attorney
• Does not provide legal, tax or financial advice

For advice, speak to an estate planning attorney, or your local legal aid office.

Keeping it safe

This binder will hold personal information. Never write down passwords, PINs or full account numbers: note where they are kept instead (for example, the name of your password manager). Keep the binder somewhere secure and tell your executor or a trusted person where it is.

How to use this binder

• Fill in a section at a time; an hour a week is plenty
• Write where things are kept, never passwords or full account numbers
• Keep the original will with your solicitor or somewhere safe, and note where
• Review it once a year and after any big change

A will

This binder is not a will. A will says who inherits and who deals with your estate. Will rules are set by each state, so check the rules where you live or speak to an attorney.

Beneficiary designations

Life insurance, retirement accounts and some bank accounts can name a beneficiary directly. Those accounts usually pass to the person named on the account, not under your will, so keep the designations up to date and note them in Section F.

Powers of attorney and health care

A durable power of attorney lets someone you trust handle money and legal matters if you cannot. A health care proxy or advance directive covers medical decisions. Forms and names vary by state. Note where yours are kept on the documents page.

What your executor will need

Executors usually start by finding the will, then listing every account, policy, property and debt so they can contact each one. Sections D to G are set out to give them exactly that list.

Digital accounts

Some online services let you choose a legacy contact or decide what happens to your account. Note your choices on the digital accounts page. Never write passwords: note where they are kept instead.

Terms used in this organizer

• Executor: the person named in a will to deal with the estate
• Estate: everything a person owns and owes when they die
• Beneficiary: a person or charity who receives something from the estate
• Probate: the court process that confirms the executor can deal with the estate

Keeping this binder up to date

• Front sheet filled in and dated
• Where the original will is kept, noted
• Key contacts listed, including your executors
• Every bank and savings account listed (no full numbers)
• Insurance and retirement accounts listed with beneficiaries
• Bills and subscriptions listed
• Where documents are kept, filled in
• Wishes page completed
• A trusted person knows where this binder is
• Next review date set