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Checklist + free template
The death binder checklist: what goes inside
A death binder is the folder your family opens on the worst day of their lives, and it either answers every question or it does not exist. Here is the full checklist of what belongs inside, the one safety rule, and a free printable template to start yours today.
The short version: a death binder (some say in-case-of-death binder, when-I-die binder, or emergency binder) collects six things: who is in charge and who to call, where every document lives, every account and bill, where your passwords are kept, your funeral and medical wishes, and a few words in your own hand. You can download three pages free and have the hardest sections started tonight.
What is a death binder, really?
Strip away the grim name and a death binder is a kindness. It is you, on an ordinary Tuesday, answering the hundred questions your family would otherwise have to answer during the worst week of their lives. Which funeral home. Which bank. Where the will is. What the phone passcode unlocks. Who gets called first.
The binder does not replace a will. A will is a legal document that says who inherits. The binder is the practical companion that says where the will actually is, along with everything a will never mentions. Families that have both grieve. Families that have neither also do paperwork, for months, blind.
The complete death binder checklist
Work through these six areas and nothing important gets missed. The first three matter most, because they are what your family needs in the first seven days.
The checklist
- 1. The people. Your executor and a backup. The family and friends to call, in order. The lawyer, accountant, and insurance agent. Who takes the pets.
- 2. The paperwork. The location of the will and any trust. Deeds, vehicle titles, insurance policies, birth and marriage certificates. The safe, and where its key lives.
- 3. The digital life. Where the phone passcode is kept. The primary email account and where its key lives. The password manager. Where the photos are. Apple and Google legacy contacts, set up.
- 4. The money. Every bank account, credit card, investment, pension, and debt. The auto-payments and subscriptions that keep billing until someone cancels them.
- 5. The wishes. Burial or cremation. The service you want, or do not want. Medical preferences if you cannot speak for yourself.
- 6. The personal. Letters. Stories. The recipe nobody wrote down. The section they keep.
Free printable death binder template: the first three pages
These are three real, watermarked pages from The Final File end-of-life planner, free to print and fill in. They cover the three checklist areas above that families need first. All three are in the free PDF.
The one rule that keeps a death binder safe
A binder with your passwords written in it is not a gift, it is a liability sitting in a drawer. The rule is simple and it never bends: write where the keys are kept, never the keys themselves. "Phone passcode: sealed envelope, top shelf of the fire safe" tells your family everything and a burglar nothing. Every page of a good in-case-of-death binder follows this rule, which is why ours never asks for a single password.
Where to keep it, and who to tell
A fire safe or a locked drawer at home beats a bank's safety deposit box, because the box can be sealed at exactly the moment your family needs what is inside. Then tell one trusted person two things: that the binder exists, and where it lives. Skip that conversation and the best binder in the world is just paper.
If you would rather build your own from scratch, our step-by-step when-I-die binder guide walks through the whole process. If you would rather skip the blank page, see every page of the planner filled in first, then decide.
Skip the blank binder
The Final File is a fill-in-the-blank death binder with all six sections laid out and the safety rule built in. One afternoon, done.
Get the planner $29Common questions
Death binder, end-of-life planner, when-I-die binder: what is the difference?
Different names, same object. "Death binder" is the blunt version, "end-of-life planner" the gentle one. What matters is the six sections inside, not the label on the spine.
How long does a death binder take to make?
With a fill-in template, one afternoon. From scratch, several weekends, mostly spent designing the questions rather than answering them.
Should couples make one binder or two?
One binder with a page set for each person works for most couples, since half the information, like the house and the shared accounts, overlaps.
Where can I get a free template?
The free printable death binder pages cover the people, the paperwork, and the digital life. No email, no signup.