JUST DO IT. Before someone else has to guess.
End of Life Planning Guide is the home for aging parents
Where are you standing?
- 01I am putting my own affairs in orderStart with the documents that decide who speaks for you, then work outward to accounts, property, and wishes.
- 02I am helping a living parentAsk better questions, write the answers down once, and keep the originals somewhere you can both reach.
- 03I am deciding about a funeral or a plotCompare what is actually required against what is being sold, before anyone signs anything.
What is in the 72-Hour File
Twelve sections. Each one is a short set of questions and a place to write the answer down.
- 01Personal and household factslegal name, prior names, addresses, birth and marriage records
- 02People to contactwho gets called first, second, and not at all
- 03Advance directive and healthcare proxywho speaks for you when you cannot
- 04Power of attorneywho signs for you, and the limits you set
- 05Will, trust, and where the originals livethe documents and the safe, the box, the attorney
- 06Bank, retirement, and investment accountsinstitution, account type, beneficiary on file
- 07Insurancelife, health, long-term care, policy numbers and agents
- 08Property and titleshome, vehicles, land, storage, safe deposit
- 09Recurring bills and subscriptionswhat keeps drafting after a death
- 10Digital life and passwordsdevices, email, photos, legacy contacts
- 11Funeral, burial, or cremation wisheswhat you want and what you have already paid for
- 12Letters and instructionsanything that is not a form
How it works
- 01Buy once, download it.A PDF workbook you fill in by hand or on a screen. No account, no subscription.
- 02Work one section at a time.Most sections take fifteen minutes. Skip what does not apply and come back.
- 03Tell two people where it lives.Two, not one. The one person you told may be in the car with you.
All four workbooks are also sold together as Four Files, One Folder, $67. See what is included.
From the Journal
All articles- How to get a death certificateWho is allowed to request a certified copy, where to order it, what it costs in your state, and why the funeral home's price may not be the state's price.
- Living trust vs willWhat each document does, why the real cost of probate depends entirely on your state, and the mortgage rule that surprises people in California.
- How to sell a cemetery plotYou probably do not own the land. What you can actually transfer, the state rules that can forbid a private sale outright, and how to price a plot that will move.
The work is not complicated. It is just easy to postpone.
Organization and education, not legal or funeral advice. Rules differ by state and by property.
