End-of-Life Planning Checklist: 15 Things Every Family Needs to Document

Your father is in the hospital after a fall. The nurse asks you what medications he takes. You don't know. She asks if he has an advance directive. You think so, but you don't know where it is. She asks about his insurance. You know he has Medicare, but you don't have his member number or his supplemental plan details.

You're standing in a hospital corridor, scrolling through your phone, trying to call a sibling who also doesn't know.

This is how most families discover they have no plan. Not in a calm conversation over coffee — in a crisis, with a clock ticking and decisions that can't wait.

The checklist below covers the fifteen areas that families most commonly discover, too late, they should have documented. It won't take the place of a proper planning process — there are conversations to have and decisions to make that a checklist can't capture — but it will tell you exactly where you stand and exactly what's missing.

The checklist

1. Advance directive or living will

This document states your parent's wishes about medical treatment if they can't speak for themselves. It typically covers life-sustaining treatment, mechanical ventilation, artificial nutrition, and resuscitation preferences.

What to document: Does the document exist? Where is the physical copy? Has it been given to the primary care doctor? Does the hospital have it on file? When was it last updated?

Country note: This is called an "Advance Decision" in the UK, an "Advance Care Directive" in Australia, a "Personal Directive" in parts of Canada, and an "Advance Care Plan" in New Zealand. The concept is the same; the legal name varies.

2. Power of Attorney (financial)

This designates who can manage your parent's financial affairs — paying bills, managing investments, selling property — if they become unable to do so themselves.

What to document: Who holds it? Is it "durable" (remains effective after incapacity) or does it only activate under certain conditions? Where is the original document? Has a copy been given to the bank?

Country note: In the UK, this is a Lasting Power of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs. In Australia, it's an Enduring Power of Attorney (Financial). Canada varies by province — Ontario uses a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property.

3. Power of Attorney (healthcare)

Separate from financial POA, this designates who makes medical decisions when your parent cannot.

What to document: Who holds it? Is it the same person as the financial POA? Does the hospital have a copy? Does your parent's primary care doctor know who the proxy is?

Country note: Called a Healthcare Proxy in some US states, a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare in the UK, and an Enduring Guardian in parts of Australia.

4. Will or trust

What to document: Does a Will exist? Where is the original? Who is the executor? When was it last updated? Is there a trust? Who is the trustee? Are there any beneficiary designations on retirement accounts or life insurance that might override the Will?

This is typically the document families assume covers everything. It doesn't. A Will governs asset distribution after death. It says nothing about medical care during life, and it doesn't help you manage daily logistics during a period of decline.

5. Insurance policies

What to document: Health insurance (plan name, member number, group number, phone number on the back of the card). Life insurance (company, policy number, beneficiary, death benefit amount). Long-term care insurance if applicable. Homeowner's or renter's insurance. Auto insurance.

Photograph the front and back of every insurance card. Store them digitally and give copies to at least one other family member.

6. Financial accounts

What to document: Every bank account (institution, account number, type). Investment accounts. Pension or retirement accounts. Any debts — mortgage, car loan, credit cards. Regular income sources — Social Security, pension payments, annuities.

You're not asking for passwords here (that comes later). You're asking for an inventory: what exists and where it lives. Many families discover, after a death, accounts they never knew about — a savings account at a bank the parent used thirty years ago, a small investment fund, an old 401(k) from a previous employer.

7. Current medications

What to document: Every prescription medication (name, dosage, frequency, prescribing doctor, pharmacy). Over-the-counter medications and supplements taken regularly. Known drug allergies or adverse reactions.

This list changes frequently, so it needs a system for staying current. Many families keep it taped inside a kitchen cabinet or on the refrigerator door. Paramedics and ER staff look for it in exactly those places.

8. Medical history and contacts

What to document: Primary care doctor (name, phone, address). All specialists (cardiologist, neurologist, oncologist, etc.). Surgical history. Major diagnoses. Hospitalizations in the past five years. Preferred hospital if there's a choice.

9. Monthly bills and subscriptions

What to document: Every recurring charge — utilities, phone, internet, streaming services, newspaper, magazine subscriptions, club memberships, charity donations, software subscriptions. Include the approximate amount, the payment method, and how to cancel each one.

This is the item families consistently say they wish they'd documented sooner. After a parent's death or move to a facility, someone has to cancel dozens of accounts — and finding them all takes months. Credit card and bank statements from the past three months will reveal most of them.

10. Digital accounts and passwords

What to document: Email accounts. Social media accounts. Online banking logins. Cloud storage (Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox). Streaming services. Shopping accounts (Amazon, online pharmacies). The PIN or pattern to unlock their phone and computer.

This is not optional in 2026. A locked phone can prevent you from receiving 2FA codes, which can lock you out of every account that matters — banking, email, medical portals. If you document nothing else on this list, document the phone PIN and email password.

For a more detailed approach to digital accounts, the digital legacy planning guide walks through the specific steps for each major platform.

11. Funeral and burial preferences

What to document: Burial or cremation preference. Has anything been pre-paid or pre-arranged? Preferred funeral home. Religious or cultural observances. Specific wishes (music, readings, open or closed casket, location). Who should be notified?

These conversations are uncomfortable, but they're far less uncomfortable than making these decisions in the immediate aftermath of a death, with grieving family members who may disagree.

12. Household operations

What to document: Location of spare keys (house, mailbox, safe deposit box, car). Alarm system code. WiFi password. Thermostat instructions. Water shut-off valve location. Circuit breaker panel location. Regular service providers (plumber, electrician, lawn care, snow removal) with phone numbers.

This sounds mundane until you're standing in your parent's house during a pipe burst and you don't know where the shut-off is. These are the operational details that no lawyer ever asks about — and that cause real chaos in a crisis.

13. Pet care plan

What to document: Veterinarian contact. Current medications and feeding schedule. Preferred food brand. Designated temporary and permanent caretaker. Any funds set aside for pet care.

If your parent has a pet, this needs to be documented before a hospitalization — not during one. Pets have ended up in shelters because nobody knew who was supposed to take them.

14. Important contacts

What to document: Attorney. Accountant or tax preparer. Financial advisor. Insurance agent. Close friends the family should notify. Religious leader or community contacts. Neighbors who check in regularly.

15. Location of physical documents

What to document: Where are the originals of the Will, POA documents, advance directive, birth certificate, marriage certificate, military discharge papers, property deeds, vehicle titles, and tax returns? Is there a safe deposit box, and if so, where is the key and who is authorized to access it?

Many families know these documents exist but cannot find them when they're needed. A simple list — "the Will is in the filing cabinet in the study, top drawer, in a blue folder" — eliminates hours of panicked searching.

The checklist tells you what. The workbook tells you how.

If you went through this list and found yourself checking "don't know" more than "done," you're in the majority. Most families haven't documented more than a few of these items, and the ones they have are often outdated.

The challenge isn't knowing what to collect — you just read the list. The challenge is actually doing it, which means having the conversations that surface this information (many of these items live only in your parent's head), organizing it in a way that's accessible in a crisis, and keeping it current.

The End-of-Life Planning Workbook takes each of the fifteen items above and gives you a dedicated worksheet to fill in, along with conversation scripts for the items that require a difficult discussion. It's designed to be completed over a series of short sessions — not all at once — and kept in a binder that any family member can access when they need it. The workbook also includes country-specific legal reference guides for the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, so you know exactly which documents you need based on where your family lives.

This checklist is the diagnostic. The workbook is the treatment plan.