A Family Important-Accounts Checklist (Without Storing Passwords)

Create an account map, not a password list

An account map answers four questions: what is the account, what does it do, which email or phone is attached to it, and where are the credentials or recovery instructions held? That is enough to prevent important accounts from being invisible.

Use a consistent entry for every account. If a trusted person finds one record, they should know how to read all of them.

Financial and protection accounts

Work through the accounts most connected to your household’s stability:

• Checking, savings, credit cards, loans, mortgage or rent portal, retirement, investments, and any payment apps used for regular household activity.
• Health, home, auto, life, disability, renters, and other insurance portals, including the policy-document location.
• Tax preparation software or records location, payroll portals, employer benefits, and business accounts if your household relies on them.

Home, family, and service accounts

• Utilities, internet, mobile phone, security monitoring, home warranty, home-service plans, and key appliance accounts.
• School, childcare, activities, medical-provider portals, pharmacy, veterinary, and pet-service accounts used by the household.
• Travel programs, roadside assistance, storage, and any recurring service that could create a problem if it is ignored.

Digital life and subscriptions

• Primary email accounts, cloud storage, phone backups, device accounts, and family-sharing services.
• Streaming, news, software, memberships, domains, websites, and social-media accounts that may need to be maintained, closed, or memorialized.
• A note about personal files or photos that are important to preserve and where their backups are kept.

Use a safer credential note

For each account, write a “credentials held in” field rather than the password itself. Examples include a named password manager, a sealed location, or a documented recovery process. Add the person who is authorized to help, if applicable.

• Never place actual passwords, PINs, security answers, full account numbers, authentication seeds, or recovery codes in an unsecured document.
• Do not assume a family member can legally access an account simply because they know how to sign in. Follow the provider’s process and seek professional guidance when needed.

Make it easy to maintain

Add an “opened or updated” date and review the map when you change phones, email addresses, banks, password managers, or insurance. Delete accounts you have closed so the list remains trustworthy.

This checklist is organizational information, not legal, tax, financial, or security advice. It does not replace an account provider’s policies, an estate plan, or professional guidance.