How to tell your family where your papers are

The short answer

You can tell someone you trust that your record exists and where it is kept. The National Institute on Aging says you do not have to discuss your personal affairs to do this. It is enough that someone you trust knows where to find your papers in an emergency.

What official pages suggest

• The National Institute on Aging suggests telling someone you know and trust, or a lawyer, where to find your important papers. If you have no relative or friend you trust, it suggests asking a lawyer to help.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests storing important documents in a safe place that is easy to reach, and either giving copies to trusted loved ones or letting them know where to find the documents.
• For funeral wishes, the Federal Trade Commission suggests giving copies to family members and your attorney, and keeping a copy in a handy place.

What to say

A few plain sentences are enough. The cover sheet of the record is built around three of them:

• That a record exists.
• Where it is kept.
• Where the original documents are kept.

You can say as much or as little as you wish about what is in it. The person you tell does not have to read it now.

How the record notes it

The cover sheet is the first page of every print-out. It says whose record it is, where the original documents are kept, who has been told that the record exists and where it is, and the date it was last reviewed.

In Part 2, People to contact, each person can be marked "call first" and given a short note.

The tool tells nobody

Telling someone is your own act. The tool sends no message to anyone, and nothing you type leaves your device.

If you would like someone to have a copy, you can print the record, or only the parts you choose. Messages to family are left out of a print-out unless you tick them.

A printed record or a saved file can be found or copied. You can keep it with your other papers. The record holds no passwords and no full account numbers for the same reason.

Where a will or a funeral wish is kept

The Federal Trade Commission notes that a will is often not found or read until after the funeral. It also notes that a safe deposit box may not be opened in time if the family has to make arrangements on a weekend or a holiday.

The record does not move any paper. It says where each one is, so that the people you have told know where to look.

If this is hard to raise

This can be a hard subject to raise. Nothing here is timed, and you can leave it for another day.

If you have an attorney, you can tell them where the record is as well.

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.

Sources

A sentence on this page that states a fact about the world rests on one of the official pages below. A sentence that only describes this record rests on no outside page.

If something on this page looks wrong, or an official page has changed since the date shown, please say so. The contact page explains how.