What should you put in a family emergency binder

What a family emergency binder is for

A family emergency binder is one place, on paper or on a screen, that tells the people close to you what they would need to know if you were not there to tell them yourself. It is not a legal document. It is closer to a map: who to contact, where things are kept and what you would want.

The National Institute on Aging, part of the US National Institutes of Health, gives the reason in its Getting Your Affairs in Order checklist: having important documents in a single place can give you peace of mind, help make sure your wishes are honored and ease the burden on your loved ones. It suggests a file, a desk or dresser drawer, or a notebook that lists the information and where the papers are.

FEMA's Ready preparedness campaign makes a similar case from another angle. After a disaster or other emergency, it says, having access to personal financial, insurance, medical and other records is what lets a household start recovering quickly. A good binder serves both purposes: a hard week and the longer term.

People and personal details

Start with the people. The NIA list includes the names and phone numbers of close friends, relatives, doctors, lawyers and financial advisors, and of religious contacts. A short note on who should be called first, and who would rather hear something in a phone call than a text, adds what an address book cannot.

Personal details come next. NIA suggests your full legal name, date and place of birth, legal residence, the names and addresses of your spouse and children, your employers and dates of employment, and your education and military records. It also suggests noting where your birth, marriage, divorce, citizenship and adoption certificates are kept.

NIA's list includes your Social Security number as well. If you would rather not write the number down, noting where the card is kept is an alternative. If you have a pet, NIA suggests adding your veterinarian's name and address.

Money, insurance and bills

For finances, the NIA checklist covers sources of income and assets such as pensions, IRAs and 401(k)s, Social Security information, insurance policies (life, long-term care, home and car) with policy numbers and agents' names and phone numbers, your banks, investments and brokers, and a copy of your most recent income tax return.

It also asks for the things that are easy to overlook because they run on their own: liabilities such as property tax, what is owed, to whom and when; mortgages and other debts and how they are paid; the location of the deed to your home; your car title and registration; and the location of any safe deposit box and its key. Monthly bills that are paid automatically belong on the same page.

The Ready campaign's list explains why each record matters, from insurance policies that help re-establish financial accounts to tax statements that point to your financial and legal providers. It also advises caution about sharing bank account, Social Security and credit card numbers. For a binder that may sit on a shelf for years, one option is to name each bank and insurer and say where the statements and policies are kept, rather than writing out full numbers.

Health information and care wishes

NIA's health section lists current prescriptions, health insurance information with policy and phone numbers, and copies of any advance directives or medical orders, such as a living will, a durable power of attorney for health care or a do-not-resuscitate order. The binder does not replace those documents. It tells your family they exist and where the signed copies are.

Wishes that are not legal documents belong here too. NIA suggests deciding ahead of time what kind of funeral or memorial service you would like, your preference between burial and cremation, and any religious, spiritual or cultural traditions you want included, then putting those preferences in writing and giving copies to your loved ones.

A few words of your own fit naturally at the end: what mattered to you, a story, a thank-you. No checklist asks for them, but they turn a folder of facts into something written for particular people.

What to leave out, and what a binder cannot do

Leave out anything that would let a stranger into an account if the binder went missing: passwords, PINs and full card numbers. Write where something is kept and who to call, not how to open it. The Ready campaign's general caution about sharing account, Social Security and card numbers is a sound rule for anything written down.

A binder is also not a will. NIA describes a will as the document that sets out how your property, money and other assets will be distributed and managed, and notes that without one, an estate is distributed according to the laws of your state. A durable power of attorney, a living trust and advance directives are separate legal documents too. The binder's job is to record that they exist and where the originals are, including, in NIA's words, the location of your most up-to-date will with an original signature.

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. A binder does not create or replace a will, a power of attorney or an advance directive. For those documents, talk to a lawyer or use the forms your state provides.

Keeping it current and easy to find

A binder only helps if someone can find it. NIA's advice is to tell someone you know and trust, or a lawyer, where your important papers are; you do not need to discuss your personal affairs, only the location. If your originals are in a bank safe deposit box, NIA suggests keeping copies in a file at home, and it mentions a fireproof and waterproof safe for added security.

Then keep it up to date. NIA recommends reviewing your plans at least once a year and whenever a major life event happens, such as a divorce, a move or a major change in your health.

It does not have to be finished to be useful. LastBinder, for example, asks 35 questions across 8 topics one page at a time, never asks for passwords or account numbers, and prints unanswered fields as blank lines to fill in by hand, so a first printed copy can go to someone you trust after only a few answers.

Frequently asked questions