How To Make A Family In Case Of Emergency Binder

A family “in case of emergency” binder is a great tool to stay organized if there ever was an emergency and you need quick access to key information. This can be helpful in emergencies – just think of the recent earthquakes or wildfires.

So, what is an In Case Of Emergency Binder? It’s simply a binder with all of your family’s key personal and financial information in one place.

This tool is helpful even beyond “death” issues. What I mean is, I find myself referencing it about once a month, simply because it’s so helpful and easy. And if there was an emergency, it would allow my wife or other family member to have the same access.

Here’s what you want to include.

Personal Information

Having all your personal information in one spot can be helpful, especially as you have to remember things like kids’ SSNs and more.

Here’s what I include.

First, I have a cover sheet that includes the following:

• Contact Information For Each Family Member (Name, DOB, Place of Birth, SSN, Driver’s License, Previous Addresses)
• Marriage Information
• Kids Information (Including Name, DOB, SSN, and School Information)

You should also have something that shares how to access passwords – like do you use Bitwarden or other password manager.

Behind the cover sheet, I include copies of:

• Drivers License
• Birth Certificates
• Marriage Certificate
• Passports
• SSN Cards
• Diplomas/Certificates

Estate Planning

Next, you should have a section with your key estate planning documents. This should have a cover sheet for each adult, with key references too (i.e. who is the main trustee or power of attorney).

• Will
• Trust
• Power of Attorney
• Advanced Health Care Directive

If you don’t know where to start, check out our guide to the Essential Estate Planning Documents.

Financial Summary

You need to have a financial summary page. This should include a listing of ALL your accounts: checking, saving, investments, retirement, credit cards, loans, and real estate.

Ideally you also include some notes on how you operate. For example, “All expenses go on the Chase Credit Card or are paid of the Navy Federal Checking account. I pay the Chase card from Navy Federal. All direct deposit paychecks go into that.” 

The goal here is to give someone who might not be “in the weeds” context on what is going on and what to look for. 

Related: Best Free Checking Accounts

Insurance

You should keep a record of all your insurance policies. It’s nice to have a summary page where you list it out for quick reference by type of insurance: Life, property, umbrella, disability, automotive. Don’t forget any company policies! You want this information easily accessible should a spouse or relative need to file a claim.

Also include the policy number and phone number to contact in case you need to file a claim.

Behind the cover sheet, have a copy of all the policies.

Home & Auto

You need to make sure you keep all your home and auto information up to date. What do you own, what do you owe, what are the key things anyone needs to know if they have to help you?

Again, a nice cover sheet that includes the following:

Home

• Address
• Title Information (who owns it, how’s it held in title)
• Mortgage
• Insurance
• Utility Information (power, water, sewer, garbage, cable/internet)

Vehicles

• Make/Model
• VIN
• Loan Information
• Registration
• Insurance

Of course, behind the cover sheet, keep a copy of everything:

• Title documents
• Property Tax documents
• Pink Slip
• Loan Information
• Insurance
• Any Paid In Full Letters

Related: How To Save Money On Your Property Taxes

Retirement

You should also keep copies and up-to-date information on your retirement information.

This could be both accounts, and pensions (and honestly, pensions are the ones you need to know more of since they can be obscure).

A cover sheet with each adult, listing:

• Retirement Accounts (IRA, 401k, etc)
• Pensions 
• Social Security Information

Behind the cover sheet, keep copies of your account statements, pension statements, and Social Security benefit statement (you can print it at SSA.gov).

Small Business

Finally, if you run a small business, you need to create a section for business information. Honestly, you probably should make a “Business In Case of Emergency Binder” too, which we’ll cover next time.

But in this tab, you can create a simple summary sheet with key business details:

• Business Name
• State and Federal Filings (LLC docs, EIN, etc)
• Tax Filing
• Accountant or Bookkeeper Contact Information

You should also have details on where to find the business records, and even how to wind down the business. This could be in the Business In Case Of Emergency Binder too.

Digitize Everything

A key aspect of backups is that you should follow the 3-2-1 system. This can be hard with personal and financial information, but the 3-2-1 system basically says:

• You should have three copies of everything
• You should keep them in two different places
• One of the places should be offsite

For example, you should have a copy of your homeowners insurance. You can have copy stored on your insurance company’s website, another stored digitally in Dropbox or Proton Drive, and a paper copy printed and stored in your In Case of Emergency Binder.

That covers the 3-2-1 system and gives you options to be able to easily access your information (or, for example, your wife who may not know the password to the digital drive). 

I’ve been on a quest to De-Google and increase privacy, and you can find more of that journey here: How To De-Google and Increase Your Privacy.