Guides

One question each

Each guide answers one plain question, with the answer at the top. Each lists the official pages it rests on and the date each was read.

• Is a list of wishes a will?

  No. A list of wishes is not a will, and neither is the record you make here. What the record is, what it leaves out, and where to turn about a will.

• What your family will need to find: a plain list of papers

  A plain list of the papers a family looks for, taken from an official source, and where each kind sits in your record.

• How to tell your family where your papers are

  You can tell someone you trust that your record exists and where it is kept, without discussing what is in it. What official pages suggest, and how the record notes it.

• Helping a parent put their affairs in order, without taking over

  You can sit beside your parent and type what they tell you. Your parent decides what is written, what is left out and when to stop.

• What to record about online accounts

  For each online service: its name, the email address it is registered to, what you would like done with it, where access instructions are kept and who can reach them. Never the login.

• Recording funeral wishes

  You can write what you would like for a funeral or memorial in your own words, and tell your family where it is written. Wishes guide a family and may not be binding.

• Recording who will care for a pet

  You can record each pet, its vet, its daily routine and the person who has agreed to care for it. This records an agreement between people, not a legal arrangement.

• How often to review your record

  There is no rule. You can look at your record once a year, or after a change such as a move or a new account. How a review works, and why the tool sends no reminders.

Also on this site

• The first steps checklist, for the person who must act after a death.
• Why there is no passwords page, and what you can write instead.
• How this works and what it does not do.

What the guides are not

The guides are general information. They are not legal, financial, tax or medical advice, and they were not written by an attorney.

Rules differ by state and country. For a will, a power of attorney or an advance directive, see your own attorney and your state's official sources.