The blog
Checklists for the family's papers, help for looking after a parent, and free question lists for saving a parent's stories.
What to keep, what to shred, where the original should live, and what your family will need to find.
An evacuation checklist in three time frames: what to take if you have 10 minutes, what to do if you have an hour, and what to get ready the day a storm or fire is forecast, with Ready.gov's advice on routes, pets, gas and an older parent who needs help to leave.
Read it ›Executor of estate duties in plain words: the three main duties the IRS names, the court's part, the tax forms, who pays the debts, what to keep records of, and the questions to ask the probate clerk before you hand anything out.
Read it ›A final wishes checklist in plain words: burial or cremation, the kind of service, music and readings, who you'd like to speak, what the FTC Funeral Rule lets your family ask for, and where to keep the page so it is found before the funeral.
Read it ›A home inventory for insurance, room by room: what FEMA and state insurance regulators say to record, how to take the photos and video, where to keep a copy outside the house, and how often to update it, in one afternoon with a phone and a pen.
Read it ›What to keep in a fireproof safe at home, what the FDIC suggests for a bank safe deposit box, what should never be locked away where you can't reach it, and the one page that tells your family where every paper is and who can open each place.
Read it ›How to write your own obituary in plain steps: the facts your family will be asked for, the parts only you can say, what to leave out so identity thieves can't use it, and where to keep the draft so it is found when it is needed.
Read it ›A letter of instruction tells your family what to do first, who to call and where everything is, in plain words. What goes in the practical half, how to write the personal letters, what to leave out, and why it never replaces a will.
Read it ›A power outage preparedness checklist for winter: the list of what needs electricity in your house, the numbers to write down before the phone dies, fridge and freezer times, medicines that need the fridge, generator and carbon monoxide rules, and where to keep the pages.
Read it ›What to do when someone dies, in order: the few things that matter in the first two days, the first week of calls and paperwork, the death certificates, Social Security, debts and bills, and the slower work an executor does over the following months.
Read it ›Where is the will, the deed, the spare key? The places families search first, what the attorney, the bank box and the probate court each hold, and how to write down where every important document is kept so nobody has to guess.
Read it ›An emergency binder checklist for the folder you grab on the way out the door: copies of IDs and insurance cards, a medication list for each person, contacts, the family plan, pet papers, and where to keep the binder and its backups.
Read it ›An emergency contact list that works when someone else is reading it: the numbers to include, the address line most lists leave off, an out-of-town contact, where to post copies, and the phone settings that show it on a locked screen.
Read it ›Tax documents organization for a household: one folder per tax year, a checklist of the W-2s, 1099s and other forms to wait for, the receipts you save yourself, and where last year's return should live.
Read it ›Estate planning binder, built as a map rather than a vault: which documents exist, what each one does in plain words, where the signed original should be kept, and who needs to be able to find it.
Read it ›Important documents organization by retention period: what to keep forever, what to keep a year or three, what to shred, and where the originals belong.
Read it ›Medical binder printables and how to use them: one page per person, a medication list, an appointment log, insurance details and what to grab on the way out.
Read it ›What to put in a home management binder: six sections for documents, medical notes, money, home, contacts and passwords, and what to leave out.
Read it ›Home management binder free printables: ten printable pages for documents, contacts, medical notes, bills and accounts, with how to print and assemble them.
Read it ›Important documents organization for your family: a calm, practical binder so everyone knows where things are and who to call. Seven sections, three short sittings.
Read it ›
One page of the Family Binder Kit at a time: what goes in each field, who to ask, and a filled-in sample.
Every page shown is in the Home Binder Family Kit, 84 printable pages ($19).
The relatives to ask, what each column means, and how to ask at Thanksgiving.
Read it ›Food, walks, medicines, the vet and the house, on pages the sitter can read.
Read it ›One section a night: contacts, medical, documents, money.
Read it ›Every bill and subscription on paper, one page a month.
Read it ›Eleven jobs by season, with the last date done and who does it.
Read it ›Where things are, who to call first and your wishes, page by page.
Read it ›Each column explained, plus a large-print chart by time of day.
Read it ›Write hints, never passwords, and set up a legacy contact.
Read it ›
Checklists and schedules for anyone helping an aging parent, including the parts siblings have to share.
12 easy, low-cost Christmas activities for seniors at home, in assisted living or nursing homes, and on family visits: trivia, large print word searches, carols, cookies, lights, stories and conversation questions about Christmases past.
Read it ›25 Christmas trivia questions and answers for seniors, multiple choice, about A Christmas Carol, stockings and Christmas in American history, plus a free large print quiz to print with its answer key, and tips for reading trivia aloud in a group or on a visit.
Read it ›A free large print Christmas word search to print: Around the Christmas Tree, 15 tree-trimming words on a 13 by 13 grid with letters about 22 point, plus its answer page. Why large print helps, and tips on highlighters, pencils and printing at full size.
Read it ›An emergency medical information sheet for the fridge: what to write on it, why fire departments chose the refrigerator, how the free Vial of Life programs work, the wallet card that goes with it, and where an advance directive or out-of-hospital DNR fits in.
Read it ›Questions to ask the doctor at an aging parent's appointment, grouped the way the National Institute on Aging groups them: tests, the diagnosis, medicines and cost, plus what to bring, how to help without taking over, and what to write down before you leave.
Read it ›What to bring to the ER with an aging parent: the cards, the medicine list, the glasses and hearing aids, and one medical information sheet that answers the questions you will be asked at triage, plus what to write down once they are admitted or kept for observation.
Read it ›Questions to ask aging parents while everyone is calm: where the papers are, who the doctors are, who they trust to speak for them, which accounts exist and what they want. What to write down, what to leave off, and where to send the decisions.
Read it ›An aging parents checklist for the holiday visit: what to look at in the kitchen, the mail, the medicine cabinet and around the house, what to write down before you leave, and how to bring it up without a fight.
Read it ›A printable-style caregiver checklist sorted by day, week and month, plus a one-page handoff sheet for whoever covers your shift.
Read it ›
Free question lists from the My Life Story workbook: what to ask Mom, Dad and the grandparents, and how to ask it.
They come from My Life Story, a printable memory workbook with nearly 300 questions ($9.99).
Their family, their first home, school days and the holidays they remember.
Read the questions ›Who raised her, her dreams at eighteen, how she met someone special, becoming a mom.
Read the questions ›His first car, his first job and boss, the work he was proudest of, becoming a dad.
Read the questions ›Warm-ups, home and school, then and now, and how to run the interview.
Read the questions ›Holiday mornings, the table, the food and the year everything went wrong.
Read the questions ›A homemade gift you print tonight, with 20 sample questions inside.
Read the questions ›Names, places, journeys and family trades, plus the family tree.
Read the questions ›A homemade memory book for Mom, with 20 sample questions.
Read the questions ›
