The Complete Set
The personalized Family File book and the Next Steps File book, plus both PDFs. $13 less than buying them separately.
- Two books and both PDFs$85
Live preview, shown with an example name. Type yours and the cover changes. 8.5 × 11 inches, coil-bound.
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The Family File
Everything your family would need to find, in one book. Fourteen numbered files for the people to call, the accounts, the policies, the house, your digital life and your wishes.
- We never see what you write. Your file lives on your paper or your own device.
- Facts and locations only: no legal forms and no advice.
- Printed books ship to US addresses. Printed in 3–5 business days; tracked delivery usually within 2 weeks.
Every cover carries its own name
Your family name is set in Caslon on a cream card in a brass label holder, the way a records drawer is labeled. Long names scale to fit, up to 24 characters.
What's inside
112 pages, organized like a records drawer. Each numbered file opens with a divider page that says what goes in it and roughly how long it takes.
Up front
- A note to your family: what this book is and who to call first
- How to use the file, and the privacy rules
- The First Ten, the ten things your family would need first
- A one-page emergency sheet
- Who knows where this file is: two people, and the date you told them
In the back
- An Annual Review checklist with sign-off boxes for ten years
- A change log
- General resources, such as where to look for unclaimed property
- Notes pages
File 01: About Me
Your details, your household, and where the birth certificate, passport, Social Security card and DD-214 are kept.
File 02: People to Call
Who to call first, then family, close friends, your attorney, CPA, insurance agent, doctor, and the neighbor with a key.
File 03: Money
Bank accounts, the 401(k) from your old job, credit cards, loans, the safe-deposit box. Last four digits only, never full numbers.
File 04: Insurance
Life, health or Medicare, home, auto and the rest: the carrier, the agent, and where each policy is kept.
File 05: Home & Property
Where the deed and car titles are, who services the mortgage, and where the water shutoff is.
File 06: Bills & Subscriptions
What's on autopay, from which account, and what to keep paying or cancel.
File 07: Digital Life
How to get into the phone, password manager emergency access, legacy contacts, and where the photos live.
File 08: Taxes & Records
Who prepares your taxes and where past returns and important records are kept.
File 09: Legal Documents Locator
Whether you have a will, trust or power of attorney, and where the originals are. A locator, not a form.
File 10: Business Interests
If you own part of a business: your role, who can step in, and where the agreements are kept.
File 11: Health & Care
Doctors, pharmacy, where the advance directive is, and your care preferences in your own words.
File 12: Dependents & Pets
The kids' routines and doctors, adults who rely on you, and who should take the dog.
File 13: Final Wishes
Service preferences, burial or cremation, any prepaid plans, and who to tell.
File 14: Letters & Legacy
Letters to the people you love, your story, the family recipes, and the stories behind the heirlooms.
A look inside
Clear labels, big writing spaces and light green fields. Every page asks where something is kept and who to call, and never for the full number.
Start with the First Ten
If you only have one afternoon, these ten answers cover most of what your family would need in the first days. Everything else can come one file at a time.
- Who to call first
- Where your will, trust or power of attorney is kept, if you have them
- Your main bank
- Your life insurance: the carrier and where the policy is
- How to get into your phone
- Whether your password manager's emergency access is set up
- The bills on autopay that need to keep getting paid
- Who looks after the kids, the pets, or anyone who depends on you
- Your final wishes, in one line
- Where this file is kept
PDF or printed book?
Both have the same fourteen files. The book includes the PDF, so many people type some sections and handwrite others.
| Fillable PDF | Printed book | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29 | $59, free US shipping |
| Your name on the cover | Fillable title page | Printed on the cover |
| How you fill it in | Type, or print pages | Pen, plus the PDF |
| When you get it | Right after checkout | Printed in 3–5 business days, tracked delivery usually within 2 weeks |
| Binding | Print and hole-punch | Coil-bound, lies flat |
- Size
- 8.5 × 11 inches, letter size
- Length
- 112 pages in 14 numbered files
- Book
- Full-color cover, black-and-white interior, coil-bound so it lies flat
- Fillable fields; works in free PDF readers that support forms
- Type
- Large, high-contrast type designed to be easy to read
What it never asks for
The file is meant to be found by your people, so it's written to be safe if someone else finds it too.
- Full Social Security numbers
- Full account or policy numbers
- Passwords
- PINs
- Security answers
- Crypto seed phrases
Instead you write where each thing is kept, plus the last four digits so your family can tell accounts apart. For passwords, the file prompts you to set up the emergency-access feature that many password managers offer.
Facts and locations, not legal forms
The Legal Documents Locator records whether you have a will, trust, power of attorney or advance directive, when it was signed and where the original is. It doesn't draft anything or tell you what you need. Prompts like "Ask your attorney whether..." point you to the right person.
Kin & Keep organizers are for recording information. They are not legal documents and do not replace a will, trust or power of attorney, or advice from an attorney, tax professional, financial professional or insurance professional.
Questions about the Family File
What goes on the cover?
Your family name, set in Caslon on a card in a brass label holder. Type Alvarez and the cover reads “The Alvarez Family File.” You have up to 24 characters: letters, spaces, hyphens, apostrophes, periods and the ampersand. Leave it blank and the cover reads “The Family File.”
How does the fillable PDF work?
After checkout you'll see a download button. Open the file in a PDF reader that supports fillable forms (the free Adobe Acrobat Reader works on computers, tablets and phones), type into the fields and save. Some web-browser PDF viewers don't keep what you type, so download the file first. You can also print it and write by hand.
How long does shipping take?
Printed books are made to order: Printed in 3–5 business days; tracked delivery usually within 2 weeks. We'll email you tracking when your book ships. The fillable PDF is ready the moment you check out.
Can I send a book to someone else as a gift?
Yes, at no extra charge. Choose a printed book, tick “Send it as a gift,” add their name and a short note, and enter their address as the shipping address at checkout. One order ships to one address, so check out separately for each person you're sending to. Ideas for giving it.
Does one file work for a couple?
Yes. A couple can share one Family File and note whose account, policy or wish each entry is. If you'd each like your own Final Wishes and Letters pages, the fillable PDF lets you print extra copies of any page.
How often should I update it?
Once a year, plus whenever something big changes: a move, a new job, a new account, a new grandchild. The Annual Review page in the back has sign-off boxes for ten years, and the Change Log keeps track of what you updated and when.
Goes well with
The Next Steps File
Checklists and trackers for the weeks after a loss, for whoever is handling things.
- Fillable PDF$19
- Printed book$39
Family File Essentials
A 32-page starter booklet with the First Ten and one-page locators. A good small gift.
- Printed booklet$15