What Is a Death Binder? What to Put in Yours

A death binder, also called an end-of-life or legacy organizer, gathers what your family would otherwise spend weeks searching for: who to call, where documents are, which accounts exist, and what you want. It is not a will and does not replace one. It makes everything else easier to find.

What to put in it

• An emergency quick sheet: the one page someone reaches for first, with who to call, your doctor, medications and where your will is.
• Personal details and where the original documents are kept: birth and marriage certificates, Social Security card, passport, military discharge papers.
• People to contact: your executor, attorney, accountant, financial advisor, and the friends who should hear the news from a person.
• Medical details and care wishes: doctors, medications, and where your advance directive and health care power of attorney are kept.
• Legal documents: where the originals of your will, trust and powers of attorney are, and who prepared them.
• Money: bank, investment and retirement accounts, with the beneficiaries named on each. Beneficiary forms on retirement accounts generally override what a will says.
• Insurance, debts and property, including any business interests.
• Home and bills: autopays, subscriptions, service providers, keys and codes.
• Digital life: devices, the password manager, online accounts, and the legacy contacts you have set up.
• Pets and dependents, final wishes, letters to loved ones, and a checklist your family can follow after a death.

What never to write down

Do not record full passwords, PINs, full Social Security numbers or cryptocurrency recovery phrases. Record where they are kept instead, for example: "in my password manager; my daughter is the emergency-access contact." Record only the last four digits of account numbers.

Where to keep it

Somewhere secure, such as a fire-resistant box at home or an encrypted drive, and tell your executor or another trusted person where to find it. A safe deposit box can be hard for family to open after a death, so check your bank's rules before keeping the only copy there. Review it every year, and after any marriage, divorce, birth, death, move, new account or new doctor.

Sources

• CFPB: Does a person's debt go away when they die?

Last reviewed 2026-10-31. General information, not legal, tax, financial or medical advice.