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End of Life Planner
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Getting your affairs in order

Make a manageable start: choose someone to help, have the first conversation, and agree on one task you can finish together.

See the full checklist

By End of Life PlannerUpdated

What “affairs in order” really means

It means someone can find people, papers, money pointers, and your wishes without digging through drawers and inboxes. That’s the same work as end-of-life planning, approached as a family coordination problem.

Starting priorities

Keep the first session short. A clear next step is enough progress for today.

  1. 01

    Choose a short, private time to talk, and ask which part feels easiest to begin.

  2. 02

    Agree who will take notes and what the person making the plan wants to keep private.

  3. 03

    Pick one task for this session, such as locating a folder or confirming a contact number.

  4. 04

    Write down unanswered questions and who will help follow them up.

  5. 05

    Agree where to keep the notes and when to meet again. Let the person making the plan set the pace.

For adult children helping parents

Ask permission before taking notes or gathering papers. Your parent decides what to record and who may see it. Offer to help with one task rather than taking over the whole file.

Try: ‘I would like to know where to find things if you ever need help. Would you rather start with contacts or paperwork?’ If they want to stop, agree on another time without pressing for answers.

Sources

Public references this page draws on. We are not affiliated with these agencies, and this is not legal, medical, or funeral-director advice.

Next steps

Continue with a related guide, worksheet, or product feature.

  • End-of-life planning — Understand what end-of-life planning involves, how the different parts fit together, and where to begin with your wishes, documents, and trusted people.
  • Planning checklist — Work through a practical checklist for contacts, documents, care preferences, final wishes, and digital accounts, with a free worksheet to record answers.
  • When someone dies — Find a calm first-days checklist after a death: who to contact, which papers to locate, and practical tasks to organize, with links to US public resources.

Start with one conversation, then keep the notes findable.

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