Heirloom and Keepsake Register

Who this is for

The things that carry the family's story, and who they are meant to go to. Each line names the object, who it came from and how it reached you, roughly how old it is, where it is kept, who you intend it for, and whether it has been photographed and insured.

Anyone who holds a grandmother's ring, a medal, a bible with the births written in the front or a box of letters, and wants the story and the intention written down before it has to be guessed at.

What this helps you track

• Every heirloom and keepsake, with the person it came from and the story of how it reached you
• Roughly how old each object is, in your own estimate
• Where each one is now — the house, the room, the drawer, or who is holding it
• Who you intend each object to go to, so the wish is recorded rather than assumed
• Which objects have been photographed and which are insured, with the insured ones counted

How to use it

1. Name the family and who keeps the register at the top.
2. Walk round the house and write one line per object. The description is for someone who has never seen it: what it is, what it is made of, any marks or inscriptions.
3. Write who it came from and how — inherited, given on a birthday, found in a house clearance — in as many words as the story needs. This is the column that makes the sheet worth keeping.
4. Say where the object is now and who you intend it for. An intention on this sheet is a family note, not a will; how possessions pass is set by the rules where you are and by whatever you have put in writing formally.
5. Tick photographed once a picture exists and insured once it is on a policy. If you have a value from a valuation or an insurer, put it in the value column; the sheet supplies none and totals only what you enter.
6. Share the sheet with the people named on it, and revise it when an object moves or is handed on.

Formats

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

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 workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

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 a valuation record?

No. The value column is optional and takes only a figure you already have from a valuer or an insurer. The point of this register is meaning and intention — where an object came from and who it is for. For valuing a collection, use a collection inventory and valuation record.

Does writing 'intended for' make it legally theirs?

No. It records a wish so that the family knows it. How belongings pass on death, and what makes a wish binding, is set by the rules where you are; if it matters, put it in the formal document that applies.

What about objects that are not worth anything?

They are often the point. A pudding basin used every Christmas for as long as anyone remembers has no value on a policy and a great deal on this sheet. Leave the value blank and write the story.

Where do the photographs go?

Keep them wherever you keep the sheet, named with the same item description, and note the file names or album in the notes area. A photograph beside a story is what a grandchild will actually look at.