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The paperwork that protects them
A will, an advance directive, a financial power of attorney, beneficiary designations, life insurance, deeds and titles, and a letter of instruction. Most people need all seven. Almost nobody has all seven. Every builder below is free and none of it needs a lawyer to start.
Document one
Directs property that passes under it, nominates the executor who runs the estate, and, if you have minor children, nominates their guardian. Die without one and your state's intestacy law decides all three. Signing rules are state law; sign it wrong and it can fail.
Start the will template →Document two
Your medical instructions for when you can't speak, and the person authorized to decide. This is the document families need at a hospital bedside at 2am, and the one most people put off longest. Each state has its own form and witness rules.
Find your state's directive →Document three
Names who can pay your mortgage, deal with your bank, and sign for you if you're alive and can't act. Without it, your family may need a court-appointed conservator to touch your accounts, and that takes months you won't have.
Set up the power of attorney →Document four
Retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death accounts pass by the name on the designation form, and that form generally beats the will. An ex-spouse on a 401(k) form from 2009 is a real and common disaster. Check every designation after every marriage, divorce, birth, and death.
Audit your beneficiaries →Document five
The policy documents themselves, the insurer's name, and the agent's contact. Unclaimed life insurance exists because families didn't know a policy did. List every policy, including the group coverage through work that everyone forgets.
How claims actually work →Document six
The house deed, vehicle titles, and a current statement for every loan. How property is titled decides whether it passes automatically or goes through probate, and your family can't answer that question without the paper.
Check what skips probate →Document seven
The unofficial one that ties the pile together: where the documents live, which accounts exist, who to call, what you want. No legal force, and in the first week it's the document your family will actually hold.
Write the letter →Documents your family can't locate are documents you don't have. One binder, one shelf, two people who know. The death binder page covers what goes in, what stays out, and where it lives.