The 50 Things Your Family Should Know Before You Die

Most planning guides stop at the will and the life insurance policy. But the things your family will actually search for, wonder about, or wish they’d asked go considerably further than paperwork — and further than most people think to document while they still can.

Financial and legal

1. Where you bank, and how many accounts you have
2. Investment and retirement account details
3. Life insurance policies and who’s listed as beneficiary
4. Your will, and exactly where it’s kept
5. Your attorney’s name and contact information
6. Property deeds and mortgage details
7. Any outstanding debts your family should know about
8. A safe deposit box location, and where the key is
9. Where your tax records are kept
10. Vehicle titles and loan information

Digital and practical

11. Your phone’s PIN or passcode
12. Your computer or laptop password
13. Email account access
14. Your password manager’s master password, if you use one
15. Social media account access and what you’d want done with each account
16. Subscription services you currently pay for
17. Where your digital photos are actually stored
18. Cloud storage account access

Health and care

19. Your doctor’s name and contact information
20. A current list of your medications
21. Known allergies
22. Where your advance directive is kept
23. Who you’ve named as your healthcare proxy
24. Specific care preferences, if you have them
25. Health insurance information

People and responsibilities

26. Who should be contacted first
27. Who’s responsible for your pets
28. A designated guardian for minor children, if applicable
29. Who you’ve named as executor
30. A full list of emergency contacts
31. Any estranged relationships your family should be aware of
32. Close friends who should be personally told, not just informed secondhand
33. Professional contacts — accountant, financial advisor, anyone else your family may need to reach

Funeral and final wishes

34. Burial or cremation preference
35. A specific cemetery or location, if you’ve chosen one
36. A funeral home preference, if you have one
37. Any existing preneed plans already in place
38. Religious or cultural wishes
39. Military records, if you’re a veteran
40. Family heirlooms, and who you’d want each one to go to
41. Organ donation wishes

The human things

This is where a Final Day Plan stops feeling like estate planning and starts feeling like something closer to a gift.

42. Who you’d want to speak at your funeral
43. Which photograph of you you actually like — not just whichever one someone finds first
44. What song you’d want played
45. The story you want your grandchildren to know about you
46. Who should get a specific, meaningful item — like Grandma’s recipe book
47. What you’d want people to laugh about, remembering you
48. A message for someone specific, if there’s one you want said
49. What you’re proudest of
50. How you want to be remembered, in your own words

Why this list works better together

Separated out, the practical items can feel like paperwork, and the personal ones can feel like something to get to “someday.” Documented together, in one place, they become something more complete: not just instructions for handling your affairs, but a genuine picture of what mattered to you and what you’d want the people you love to carry forward. A Final Day Plan is built specifically to hold both at once.

Not every item will apply to every person or family - the goal is a starting point to work from, not a rigid requirement to complete in full.