An estate emergency kit is essentially a “how-to” guide in the event that you become incapacitated or pass away. It provides your family members with instructions on how to navigate your finances and wishes in your absence through a detailed collection of legal documents, instructions, and important papers. A legacy kit details what you have, where it is, and how to access it to make sure nothing important is overlooked.
As people make their way through life, they tend to accumulate not only more physical things but also more financial records. These can include multiple bank accounts, retirement funds, insurance policies, and online logins. Curating an emergency kit helps ensure that your loved ones can easily manage decades’ worth of information. Removing the guesswork for your heirs can significantly reduce their stress at a vulnerable time while also helping to honor your wishes.
Key Elements of an Estate Emergency Kit
Everyone’s estate preparedness checklist will look different, but there are many items everyone should include when applicable. These items can be broken into two general categories—physical and digital—as detailed below.
Physical Elements
Many of us keep physical copies of financial and legal documents. If you hold any of the below (or anything else of importance!) in a safe-deposit box, be sure your next of kin has instructions and authorization to access it. Documents should be kept together, organized, and stored in a secure, fire-safe spot, and your trusted loved ones should know where they are.
Estate Planning Documents: These include your will, powers of attorney, medical directives, and trust documents. The powers of attorney (both financial and healthcare) are vital to include so that your named agents can prove their authority to manage your estate as needed. It can be helpful to include a cover page in your estate organizer listing the names and contact information of key people in your estate plan, such as your executor, power of attorney, and healthcare proxy.
Life Insurance Policies: You’ll want to include a copy of all employer and private life insurance policies in your insurance file. When you do pass away, having policy copies helps ensure that your beneficiaries can swiftly file a claim for benefits.
Financial Account Details: Provide a summary of all your financial accounts, including account numbers, institutions, and contact information, such as for your advisor. Include statements when possible. While this category includes checking, retirement, annuities, and other assets, be sure to also include information on debts, such as mortgages and auto loans. Provide copies of the past two to three years of tax returns as well.
Personal Identification and Property Records: Include copies of all vital documents, such as your Social Security card, birth certificate, driver’s license, and marriage and divorce certificates. Also include copies of deeds and property titles for your home, autos, boats, and other personal property; they will be needed for the inheritors to claim assets.
Contact Information List: Make a list of anyone you want notified in the event of your incapacity or passing. This list typically includes family members, friends, doctors, attorneys, financial advisors, and employers. Your executor can use this list to quickly contact those most important to you and your succession plan.
Funeral and Memorial Wishes: If you have a specific way you wish to be honored after your passing, it’s important to make a detailed plan for your descendants. Write a letter of instruction detailing your desires to include burial or cremation, ceremony preferences, special requests (such as songs, readings, or where to scatter your ashes), and any prepaid arrangements. This step removes some of the decision-making from your family and helps ensure your wishes are known and honored.
Personal Letters: Many people take comfort in leaving behind personal letters to their loved ones. These letters are sometimes called ethical wills. They can provide comfort and meaning to your family support system during an emotional time.
Special Caregiving Instructions: If you have others who rely on you, such as pets or dependents, include instructions for their care. For pets, you would likely include their feeding routine, exercise regimen, veterinary contact information, and who should care for them in your absence. For others, such as a dependent parent, you’d include their doctor’s contact information, medication list, and medical history. Keeping this information in your kit is an important part of a transition plan to ensure continuity of care for those who rely on you.
Digital Elements
The digital world is embedded in everything we do. While you may have physical copies of many documents that are also housed digitally, some items can’t easily be printed and put in a folder.
Inventory of Online Accounts: Make a list of every online account you have. This should be extremely comprehensive and include your email addresses, investment accounts, social media accounts, utilities, subscriptions, and many others. If you use a password manager, this process will be simpler. In your list, be sure to include your username and either the password or the password’s location (in a password manager, in a notebook, etc.). It’s vital that this list is kept somewhere secure.
Password Management Plan: While it is common practice to keep a password notebook on hand, it is much more secure to use a password manager. You can then leave the master password in your legacy kit for your heirs. Maintenance will be much easier since you’ll only have to keep it updated with one password rather than having to update it for every single account as needed. It’s important to keep master password or notebook somewhere secure so no one can access your accounts until you’re ready. Many digital password managers offer an emergency access feature that lets you designate a trusted person who can request access if you do not decline the access in a designated time frame.
Designate a Digital Executor: This can be a separate duty or one you outline for your main executor as well. Whoever you designate will have authority to manage or close your digital accounts, which is important because privacy laws can prevent even spouses from accessing your online accounts. Our digital footprints are ever-growing, and appointing a digital executor ensures yours is handled as you prefer, whether archiving your social media accounts or deleting emails. Some platforms, such as Facebook and Apple, allow you to add a legacy contact so that your permissions are already on file and your executor won’t have to fight to get access.
Digital Backups of Documents: While the “physical elements” section included a list of your vital documents to keep in your kit, consider keeping digital copies as a contingency plan. They will serve as a safety net if the physical copies are lost or destroyed. They should, of course, be password-protected like any other item in your asset inventory. There are some digital platforms that allow you to compile all your information and even message your heirs in a secure, digital vault. You’d then grant your executor access to the vault upon your death or incapacity.
Keep Your Kit Up to Date
Lives, laws, and logins change regularly, which can cause information to become outdated. It’s important to conduct regular reviews of your family legacy kit to ensure documents are current. Set a calendar reminder each year, or choose an easy-to-remember date like a birthday or New Year’s Day. Review both the physical and digital portions of your kit, keeping all documents current and logins fresh.
Whenever major life events occur, you’ll also need to review your kit. These events could include moving, the birth of a grandchild, or a change in marital status. It’s important to make these changes quickly. If you put them off, you may run out of time.
Each time you make an update, track the revisions in a log. If you include a table of contents or cover sheet, that’s a great spot to keep records. This will make it easier for you and your family to see how recently it was reviewed and also for you to quickly confirm whether you’ve made a desired change. If the changes are substantial, such as moving your kit to another location, be sure to alert your key contact so they can access the kit when needed.
Tools and Templates for Getting Started
There are many free and paid services available to help you set up your legacy kit. AARP offers a free kit that includes a workbook to help you catalog all important information. The National Institute on Aging also has a “Getting Your Affairs in Order” checklist that can serve as a template for your kit.
A simple three-ring binder can easily be turned into a “legacy binder” to house your estate roadmap. It doesn’t need to be fancy! Use a template or worksheet to help organize your binder or folder and to make sure nothing important is missing. This process can be overwhelming, and starting simple is a great way to dip your toe in. Getting started is what’s most important, and you can add to your kit and fine-tune as you go. Having something, even just a basic framework, is better than having nothing.
As already mentioned, there are digital vault services available to store documents. They serve as a digital safety box for documents, passwords, and letters to loved ones. Closely evaluate the digital security of any options you explore, and make sure they fit within your budget. Services include Everplans, GoodTrust, and Trustworthy.
If you have a relationship with an estate planning attorney or a financial advisor, they can serve as a resource for document storage. Law offices often have document organizers or worksheets you can use as part of the planning process, and oftentimes they will house copies of your signed documents in their own vault system. When you complete your estate plan, check with your attorney to confirm what documents they will store on your behalf. Some banks and financial institutions also offer both digital and physical tools for storage.
Conclusion
Building your estate emergency kit can sound like a large undertaking, but it’s an important part of your family legacy. Staying organized and expressing your wishes while you are able provides an invaluable gift to both you and your loved ones. You can feel confident knowing that a plan is in place and that your affairs will be handled as intended. Your heirs will also be able to navigate the process with much less confusion and guesswork.
Estate planning is just as much about peace of mind and leaving a legacy you can be proud of as it is about money. Start small, lean on your family support system, and build your kit over time. Your future self will thank you.
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