Important documents checklist: know what you have and where it is

Work through six categories #

Use this as an organizing list, not a requirement to obtain every item. Document names and requirements vary by country and situation.

• Identity and family: identification, birth or marriage records and relevant name-change records.
• Insurance: health, home or renters, vehicle and life-policy records where applicable.
• Money: institution list, recent statements, loan records and tax-record locations.
• Legal planning: existing will, trust and powers of attorney, with the relevant professional contact.
• Health planning: existing advance directives and the location of your current care summary.
• Home and property: ownership or lease records, vehicle titles, inventory and useful service records.

Source: National Institute on Aging: Getting your affairs in order

Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Prepare before a disaster or emergency

Use a location index that someone else can follow #

Create a row for each record with these five fields. Keep full account numbers, identity numbers and access codes out of a broadly shared index.

• Record: a plain name, such as “home insurance policy.”
• Original: the actual storage location or custodian.
• Copy: where an authorized person can find a readable version.
• Help: the person or institution to contact if it is missing.
• Checked: the date you verified the location and copy.

Separate keeping, copying and discarding #

Do not shred an original just because you scanned it. Retention and original-document requirements depend on the record, provider and jurisdiction. Ask the issuer or an appropriate adviser before discarding an important record. Store copies so a home emergency does not remove every usable version.

Organize one category at a time #

Choose a category, label its records consistently and update the index. Then test whether your chosen person can find one item. If an original is held by a professional or institution, check the access process with them rather than assuming a family member can collect it.

What important documents should I keep? #

Start with identity and family records, existing legal and health-planning documents, insurance, property records, financial institution records and current care information. Include only categories your household has. The printable checklist lets you write a location, a follow-up or “not applicable” beside each category.

Source: National Institute on Aging: Getting your affairs in order

Source: FTC: Organize important papers before a disaster

Should the checklist contain originals or copies? #

The checklist is an index, so it can identify both without containing either. Record the original location separately from the copy location. Ask the receiving institution whether it needs an original, certified copy or ordinary copy; a phone scan often is not accepted as a substitute. For retention or disposal, check the requirements that apply to that record before discarding it.

Source: National Institute on Aging: Getting your affairs in order

Worked example: turn a pile of papers into an index #

In this fictional household, Jordan has an insurance policy, a birth certificate and some old statements. The first session produces three useful rows and an unresolved question. It does not require finishing the entire archive.

• Mark missing information “to verify” instead of guessing.
• Keep a separate question list so uncertainty does not stop the whole organizing session.
• Ask your chosen person to locate one listed record using only the index.