Most people assume they are somewhat prepared. The test is simple: if you were gone tomorrow, could someone else actually do what needs doing, without you in the room to explain anything?
Answer these out loud. Count your yeses.
The Ten Questions
- 1. Could someone find your will today, without guessing?
- 2. Is there a written list of every bank, brokerage, retirement, and insurance account?
- 3. Could your family unlock your phone and your email?
- 4. Have you checked your beneficiary designations in the last three years?
- 5. Does anyone know your medical wishes if you could not speak for yourself?
- 6. Has anyone been told, out loud, that they are your executor?
- 7. Would your family know your funeral preferences, or would they be guessing?
- 8. Is there a list of the people who should be contacted?
- 9. Would your family know which subscriptions and auto-payments to cancel?
- 10. Does anyone besides you know where all of the above lives?
What Your Score Means
8 to 10 yeses. You are genuinely prepared, which puts you in a small minority. Book a yearly review so it stays true.
4 to 7. Typical, and workable. You likely have the legal documents but not the access and instructions. Start with questions 2, 3, and 10.
0 to 3. Your family would be doing archaeology during grief. Not a judgment, just a starting line. One hour this weekend changes the answer.
The Fastest Fixes, In Order
Question 10 is the multiplier: a perfect plan nobody knows about scores zero in practice. So tell one person, then close the two widest gaps.
- The account list (question 2): twenty minutes, and it removes weeks of detective work. Our 30-day checklist walks it step by step.
- Access (question 3): legacy contacts on your phone, email, and photos, plus a password manager with emergency access. See the password problem.
If you would rather be walked through all ten in order, Afterward Planning asks these questions gently, one at a time, and keeps the answers where your family will actually find them.