Organizing your affairs as a way to make it easier for those who survive you is an admirable goal. If you are a person who is highly organized and who has the time and patience to deal with considerable detail, I recommend “Get It Together”, by Melanie Cullen. It’s comprehensive and well over 200 pages.
For those who want a less comprehensive approach here is a checklist to get you started. Choose the ones that you consider high priority to meet your own needs and the needs of the people who survive you. They will appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Checklist
A list with yourself and all family members using full legal names.
Military dates of service.
Your last wishes.
Organ or body donation
Burial or cremation
Funeral and memorial services.
These can be addressed in a variety of different documents.
A list of everyone and everything for whom you provide care.
Children
Adults
Pets.
A list of people and organizations for whom you provide service.
Business clients
Volunteer organizations.
Businesses in which you have some level of ownership.
If you are the only employee in a business wholly owned and run by you, make sure you have a succession plan stating whether it will be sold or dissolved, or stating that a specific named person will take it over.
People with whom you have ongoing relationships.
Attorneys
CPAs or other tax preparers
Financial planners and investment advisers
Doctors – primary care and specialists
Dentists
Pharmacists
Ophthalmologists and optometrists
Psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists
House-related maintenance people
Vehicle-related maintenance people.
Memberships.
This covers a wide variety of organizations. Some of these may have benefits for survivors.
Last Will & Testament, signed and properly witnessed.
Financial information.
Credit and debit card statements
Banking statements
Automatic bill paying by your bank or by credit card
Investments
Income producing instruments such as annuities and rental housing
Debts owed by you and owed to you.
Insurance policies.
Life
Health
Disability
Long term care
Home
Car.
Taxes.
Latest tax return
Latest property tax statement
Business tax return.
A list of charities you regularly donate to along with your wishes as to which ones you would like to see donations continued.
Your digital life
Digital account numbers, userids, and passwords.
If you use a password manager such as Dashlane, make sure someone has the master password!
Paid subscriptions.
Digital
Hardcopy.
Digital accounts such as Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Yahoo, and YouTube.
These and many other online accounts have their own policies governing what happens to them when the account holder dies. And these policies tend to change over time. You should check with these companies to get their latest policies. Your wishes for the disposition of these accounts can be addressed in a Last Will and Testament.
Originals or copies of:
Birth certificate
Adoption records
Baptismal records
Marriage certificates
Military records
Divorce/annulment/legal separation documents
Citizenship documents
Social Security card
Car title
Property deed
Passport
Driver’s license
Credit cards
Debit cards
Warranty records.
Locations of all the above information including instructions on how to access them.
A waterproof and fire-resistant home safe is a good choice. If you have one, make sure it is securely bolted to the floor or any other place in the house that makes it very difficult to move. If it’s digital, change the batteries at least once a year, and make sure a family member has the combination.
If you have a safe deposit box, make sure you know who can get access after you die. This varies according to state law. You don’t want your survivors to be forced to get a court order to open your safe deposit box.
Make sure someone has the alarm code for your house. If you live in a gated community, someone needs to be given the gate code.