The 7 Things Every Adult Should Have Documented Before Something Goes Wrong
A short, evergreen checklist of the seven categories of information every adult should have documented. Plain language, no fear framing.
Most preparedness lists are too long. The version below is the short one. Seven categories. Each one is something every adult should have written down somewhere a trusted person could find. You do not have to finish them all in a sitting. You do have to start.
Pick the category that is easiest for you today. Cross it off. The next one will be easier than the first one was.
1. Contacts
Three to five names. Phone numbers. A short note about what each one handles. This is the first thing any trusted person would need, and it is the easiest section to write.
2. Account access
Two pieces of information matter most. The email that resets everything else, and the bank account that pays the bills. If you only have time for two, those two are the ones.
Beyond the basics, note where your password manager lives and how a designated recovery contact can reach it. Or, if you do not use a manager, where the list of accounts is stored.
3. Legal documents
Name the documents and tell people where they are. Will, trust if you have one, power of attorney, healthcare directives, and the attorney who prepared them. Do not summarize what they say. Locate them.
4. Medical information
Doctors, current medications, allergies, ongoing care plans, and where the most recent records are stored. Add a single line about your insurance carrier and the policy number.
5. Financial accounts
Banks, credit cards, retirement, brokerage. You do not need balances. You need account names, the institutions, and the way someone would log in or contact the bank to ask. Add a short note on recurring bills and which account they pull from.
6. Digital footprint
Where your photos and important files live. Whether you have set up Legacy Contact or Inactive Account Manager on the platforms that offer them. Which social accounts should be memorialized, which should be closed, and which should be left alone.
7. Final wishes
Keep this short and personal. Preferences for services, burial or cremation, music, gifts to charities in lieu of flowers, who to notify directly. If there are things you do not want, name them. Your family will be grateful that they did not have to guess.
How to make this happen
Two practical tips:
• Pick one category a week. Seven weeks from now, you have a full plan.
• Put a recurring reminder on your calendar to refresh the document once a year. Twenty minutes annually is enough.
A short, current document beats a perfect, stale one. Start small, save often, and tell one trusted person where it lives.
Where this list tends to fail
The two failure modes are predictable. The first is trying to finish all seven categories in a single sitting and burning out halfway through. The second is finishing it once and never touching it again. Both are fixable. A category a week prevents the first. A calendar reminder prevents the second.
Treat the list as a living document, not a project to be completed. The point is not to cross the finish line. The point is to have something current the next time anyone needs it.
Call to action:
Start documenting inside One Final Message. You decide what to add, what to share, and who receives what.