End-of-Life Planning Checklist

End-of-life planning isn't only for people who are seriously ill. It's the work of writing down where things are, who should speak for you, and what you want, so your family isn't guessing under pressure. You can do it in short sessions. You don't need every document finished on day one.

This checklist is for everyday planning: papers, people, money, health decisions, and funeral wishes. It is general information, not legal or medical advice.

1. Gather the papers that matter

Start a single folder, binder, or digital folder labeled clearly. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends organizing important documents in a safe, easy-to-find place and telling a trusted person where they are. Aim to collect:

• Birth certificate, Social Security card, marriage or divorce papers, military discharge papers
• Will, and any trust documents
• Deed, mortgage, lease, vehicle titles
• Insurance policies (life, health, homeowners, auto, long-term care)
• Recent bank, brokerage, and retirement statements
• Tax returns for the last few years
• List of regular bills and autopays
• Safe-deposit box location and where the key is

Keep passwords and PINs in a separate secure list. Tell one trusted person how to find that list if needed.

2. Name who speaks for you

Two roles are easy to mix up:

• Health care proxy (durable power of attorney for health care): someone who can make medical decisions if you can't speak for yourself.
• Financial power of attorney: someone who can handle money and property if you can't.

The National Institute on Aging explains that advance directives (such as a living will and a durable power of attorney for health care) only take effect when you cannot communicate your own wishes, and that naming a proxy you trust is a core part of advance care planning. State forms differ. Use your state's official forms, or work with a lawyer, rather than inventing your own wording.

Also write down emergency contacts, your doctor, and anyone who should be told first.

3. Put medical preferences in writing

You don't have to decide every possible treatment today. You do need enough written guidance that your proxy and doctors aren't starting from zero. Consider:

• Whether you have (or want) a living will describing care you would or wouldn't want
• How you feel about CPR, breathing machines, and feeding tubes in situations your doctor can describe
• Whether a POLST (or your state's similar form) makes sense if you are seriously ill or frail
• Where copies of any DNR or POLST forms would be kept

For a plain-language explainer of DNR orders, see our What Is a DNR Order? guide. Bring questions to your doctor; Medicare covers advance-care-planning conversations as part of the annual wellness visit in many cases (ask your clinician how that works for you).

4. Make a simple money map

You don't need a full estate plan in one afternoon. A one-page money map helps whoever steps in:

• Banks and credit unions (name of institution, type of account — not every password on the fridge)
• Retirement and investment accounts
• Debts and regular payments
• Insurance policies and who the agent is
• Who currently has access, and who should

The CFPB also notes that a durable financial power of attorney is different from a health care proxy, and that you can still manage your own money while you are able. Ask a lawyer whether that document fits your situation.

5. Write funeral and memorial wishes (even briefly)

A short note is better than none. Include:

• Burial, cremation, donation, or "family decides"
• Any prepaid plan, and where the paperwork is
• Preferred funeral home or type of service (religious, celebration of life, private)
• Music, readings, or people you'd like involved
• "In lieu of flowers" preferences, if any

Under the FTC's Funeral Rule, families have the right to an itemized price list and to buy only the goods and services they choose. Writing your wishes now makes that shopping less rushed later. For the family side after a death, see What to Do When a Parent Dies and our funeral planning checklist.

6. Tell people, then review once a year

• Give copies (or tell the location) to your proxy, a spare trusted person, and your doctor when relevant.
• Review after major life changes: marriage, divorce, a new diagnosis, a move, a death in the family.
• Date each update so nobody follows an old version by mistake.

A one-sitting starter version

If you only have an hour:

1. List where the will, insurance, and bank info live.
2. Name a health care proxy and one backup.
3. Write three sentences on funeral wishes.
4. Tell those people you did it.

That alone removes a large share of the scramble families face later.

Want a fillable version? The Just-in-Case Planner is our 53-page organizer (people, papers, accounts, medical choices, final wishes). The Aging Parent Paperwork Bundle pairs it with related guides in one download.

This checklist is general information for families. It isn't legal, medical, financial, or tax advice. Rules and forms differ by state. For wills, powers of attorney, and medical orders, use official state forms or talk with a qualified professional.