Personal Affairs Index Sheet

Who this is for

The front page of your affairs folder. It lists each part of your life on paper, where the record for it is kept and who to ring about it, so the person who opens the folder knows where to look before they start searching.

Anyone gathering their paperwork into one place, and the partner, adult child or executor who may one day need to find it all without being able to ask.

What this helps you track

• Where the folder itself is kept and who knows it exists
• Where the record for each area of your affairs is held
• The key contact and phone number for each area
• When each entry was last checked or brought up to date
• Which sections of the folder are actually in place

How to use it

1. Write your name, the date and where the folder is kept, and name the people you have told about it.
2. Work down the areas already listed, writing where each record is kept: a drawer, a box file, a solicitor's office or a named document on a computer.
3. Add the person or organisation to contact for each area and their phone number, and date the line when you fill it in.
4. Use the blank lines for anything the list does not cover, such as a business, a trust or a property abroad.
5. Tick the sections that are actually in the folder, and put this sheet at the front.
6. Look at it once a year or after any big change, and re-date the lines you check; the browser version saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Is this the same as writing a will?

No. It is an index, not a legal document. It says where your will and other papers are kept, not what they say. For the will itself, speak to a solicitor or a qualified will writer and check the rules where you are.

Should I write account numbers or passwords on it?

It is safer not to. Say where the statement, policy or login record is kept rather than copying numbers onto a sheet that sits on top of the folder. Passwords belong in a password manager or a sealed record.

Who should know the folder exists?

That is your choice, but at least one person you trust, usually an executor or next of kin, should know where it is. There is a field at the top to record who you have told.

How often should I update it?

Whenever something changes, such as a new bank, a house move or a new will, and a general look through once a year. The last updated column shows at a glance which lines have gone stale.