10 Things Your Family Should Know How to Find Before an Emergency
Here’s a question I think about a lot:
If you couldn’t answer your phone tomorrow, would someone know how to step into your life for you?
I’m not necessarily talking about dying. Maybe you’re in the hospital. Maybe you’ve had an accident. Maybe you’re temporarily unable to manage things yourself.
Most of us are carrying an extraordinary amount of information in our heads.
We know which bank we use. We know which doctor to call. We know where the insurance paperwork is. We know the password system. We know which bill gets paid from which account. We know where we put the deed.
Until suddenly, we’re not the person who can answer the questions.
Having a will doesn’t solve that problem.
Being family ready means making sure someone you trust can find the information they need if you can’t provide it yourself.
Here are 10 things worth thinking about.
1. Where your estate documents are
You may have done all the responsible things. You have a will. Maybe you have a trust and powers of attorney. Great.
Now ask yourself: Would the right person know where to find them? Make sure someone appropriate knows what exists and where the originals are kept.
2. Who your important contacts are
Think about the people behind your paperwork. Your attorney. Financial advisor. Insurance agent. Accountant. Employer. Doctor.
If someone had to step in tomorrow, would they know who these people are? A simple contact list can save an enormous amount of searching.
3. Where your insurance information is
Life insurance isn't the only insurance someone may need to locate. Health. Home. Auto. Long-term care, if applicable. Other coverage specific to your situation.
You don't need to hand everyone copies of your policies. Make sure someone can determine what exists.
4. Where you bank and invest
Again, this isn't about putting sensitive account information on a piece of paper and leaving it in a drawer.
It's about making sure the appropriate person could eventually determine where you have financial relationships. If nobody knows an account exists, finding it becomes much harder.
5. Where important property records are
Think about deeds, titles, mortgage information, safe-deposit-box information and other significant assets. Could someone locate them without turning your house upside down?
6. Where your vital records are
Birth certificate. Marriage certificate. Passport. Military records. Social Security information.
You don't think about these documents very often until the day you need one.
7. Your essential medical information
This one isn't theoretical. If you were taken to the hospital tonight, could someone tell the medical team what medications you take? Could they name your primary physician? Would they know about an important allergy? Would they know where your advance directive is?
That's family readiness, too.
8. How your digital life works
Think about how much of your life would disappear behind a password if you couldn't access it yourself. Email. Photographs. Devices. Online accounts. Cloud storage. Subscriptions.
You need a secure digital-access plan appropriate for your situation. And someone needs to know that plan exists.
9. What you actually want
Documents tell people a lot. They don't always tell people you.
If there are important healthcare wishes, final-arrangement preferences or other decisions you don't want someone else guessing about, document them appropriately.
10. Where the personal things are
There's another kind of information that matters. The box of photographs. The letter you wrote but never gave someone. The family recipe. The story behind a piece of jewelry. The things you want your children to know. The things you want them to have.
When I created Clear After, I knew I didn't want to build something that treated a person's life as a collection of accounts and legal documents.
The practical things matter enormously. So do the personal things.
Take the tomorrow test
You can do this right now. Ask yourself: If something happened to me tomorrow, who would step in? Picture that person.
Then ask: Would they know where to start?
If the answer is no, don't try to fix your entire life tonight. Choose one thing from this list. Take care of it. Tell someone you trust where it is. Next week, choose another.
That's progress.
The Clear After Box - a care package for what comes next.
Founder Edition: $219 for the first 300 boxes.
Start with the free Family Readiness Checklist
I've turned these 10 areas into a simple printable checklist you can work through at your own pace.
No giant project. No need to finish everything today. Just start.
Stephanie Worrell
Founder, The Clear After Box
A care package for what comes next.