Important Papers to Organize
When a loved one passes, families often spend days looking for paperwork. Gathering your end-of-life documents in one place, and telling someone where it is, can spare them that search.
Choose one secure place, list what’s there and where everything else is, and make sure one trusted person knows how to find it. You don’t need to write down passwords or account numbers in an unprotected file for this to work.
One place your family knows about
It can be a folder, a fireproof box, a safe-deposit box, or a secure digital vault. What matters most is that someone you trust knows it exists and how to get to it. If you use a safe-deposit box, ask your bank who could open it after your death.
What to gather: an end-of-life documents checklist
Not everyone has every item. Where a document is kept elsewhere, a note saying where is enough.
- Birth certificate
- Marriage or divorce records
- Military discharge papers (DD-214), if you served
- Where to find your Social Security card and ID
Keep these in the secure place itself, not in an open list.
- Your written funeral wishes
- Any prepaid funeral contract
- Cemetery deed or property records and the cemetery’s rules
- Provider and cemetery contacts
- Life insurance policies and the insurer’s contact
- Employer or union benefits
- Pension or retirement plan contacts
- Veterans documents
- Where your will or trust is kept
- Powers of attorney and health care directive
- A list of banks and accounts, without full numbers
- Your attorney, accountant, or advisor
If you served, the VA lets you apply now for a pre-need decision on burial in a VA national cemetery. Keeping the decision letter with these papers saves your family a step. See VA burial and memorial benefits.
Digital accounts
Your family will need to know which accounts matter, such as email, photos, online banking, and subscriptions that bill automatically. They don’t need a list of passwords in an unprotected document.
Some services let you name someone ahead of time. Apple’s Legacy Contact gives a person you choose access to certain account data after your death, using an access key plus a death certificate. Google’s Inactive Account Manager can share data or notify someone if your account goes unused. A password manager with an emergency-access feature is another option.
Keep it current and secure
- Review it once a year, or after a move, marriage, divorce, or new policy.
- Date anything you update.
- Tell one or two trusted people where it is. They don’t need to read it now.
“If my family needed this information tomorrow, would they know where to find it?”
Checklist
- Pick one secure place
- Add your funeral wishes and any funeral or cemetery contracts
- Add insurance and benefit information
- Note where your will, trust, and directives are kept
- List important accounts and advisors, without passwords
- Set up legacy contacts for key digital accounts
- Tell a trusted person where it all is
This page is about finding papers, not preparing legal documents. For wills and trusts, talk with an attorney. The Utah Courts Self-Help Center offers free legal information.
Ready to see how these choices apply to your situation?
Your Wayfinder Plan can help organize the options you’re considering and give you a clearer picture of what to ask and compare.
Build My Wayfinder Plan- Telling family where documents are filed: FTC, Planning Your Own Funeral.
- VA pre-need eligibility and DD-214: VA, Pre-need eligibility determination.
- Digital legacy tools: Apple, Legacy Contact; Google, Inactive Account Manager.
This page is general information, not legal or financial advice.