Most families keep their important information in a dozen places: a folder in a desk drawer, a password saved on one person's phone, an insurance policy in an email inbox, a list of medicines in someone's head. That works fine until the person who knows where everything is cannot answer the phone. A family emergency binder, sometimes called an "in case of emergency" binder or an "if something happens to me" binder, pulls the essentials into one place that the people you trust can find and use. Here is what to put in it, section by section, and how to keep it safe and current.
What a family emergency binder is (and is not)
Think of it as an instruction manual for your household. It answers the questions someone would have if you were suddenly in the hospital, traveling without signal, or gone: Who do I call first? What medicines does she take? Which bank pays the mortgage? Where is the will?
It is not a legal document. A binder does not replace a will, a trust, a power of attorney or an advance directive. It tells your family that those documents exist and where the originals are kept. If you do not have them yet, the binder is a good reminder to talk with an attorney.
Before you start
- A 1.5 to 2 inch three-ring binder with tabbed dividers, or a fillable digital organizer you can print
- Sheet protectors for cards and copies you do not want to punch
- About an hour for the first pass. You do not need to finish in one sitting; start with the first section below and add the rest over a few weekends
Section 1: The "start here" page
Put a single page at the very front that someone could read in two minutes during a crisis:
- The three to five people to call first, with phone numbers
- Who can make medical decisions for you, and who can handle money if you cannot
- Where the binder's most sensitive information is kept, if you store it separately
- A short note in your own words: what you want the person reading this to know
Section 2: Personal information and key contacts
- Full legal name, date of birth and address for each adult in the home
- A note of where Social Security cards, passports and birth certificates are kept (not the numbers themselves)
- Contacts: close family, neighbors, employer HR, doctors, attorney, accountant, financial advisor, insurance agent, clergy, close friends
- Your family emergency plan: meeting place, out-of-town contact, how you will reach each other
Section 3: Health
This is the section most likely to be needed quickly.
- A one-page medical summary per person: conditions, allergies, surgeries, blood type if known
- Current medicines with dose and how often, including over-the-counter medicines and supplements
- Doctors, preferred hospital and pharmacy
- Copies of health insurance cards, front and back
- Where your health care power of attorney and advance directive or living will are kept
- Preferred language, and whether an interpreter would help
Section 4: Money
The goal here is a map, not a vault. List institutions and what each account is for, so someone could keep the household running for a month.
- Banks and credit unions, with the type of account and the last four digits only
- Retirement and investment accounts, and who the beneficiaries are
- Income sources: paychecks, pensions, Social Security, rental income
- Bills and autopays: mortgage or rent, utilities, phone, insurance premiums, loans, subscriptions, with due dates
- Debts: credit cards, car loans, student loans
- Where tax returns from recent years are kept, and who prepares them
Section 5: Insurance
Insurance is easy to lose track of, especially coverage that comes through work.
| Policy type | What to write down |
|---|---|
| Life | Company, policy number location, beneficiaries, agent contact |
| Disability | Short and long term, through work or private |
| Home or renters | Company, agent, where the policy is kept |
| Auto | Company, vehicles covered, claims phone number |
| Through an employer | Group life, accidental death, supplemental plans; who to call in HR |
Section 6: Home, vehicles and belongings
- Where the water, gas and electric shutoffs are
- Utility companies and account holders
- Trusted service providers: plumber, electrician, HVAC, landlord or HOA
- Vehicles: where titles are kept, loan or lease details
- Valuables and where they are, plus any safe deposit box and who has a key
Section 7: Digital life
A phone that no one can unlock can stall everything else. You do not need to write down every password. A safer approach:
- List your devices and note who could unlock them in an emergency
- If you use a password manager, record how a trusted person could reach it (many offer emergency access features)
- Note your main email accounts, since most other accounts reset through email
- Write down what you want done with photos, email and social media accounts
- List subscriptions that would need to be canceled
Section 8: Kids, dependents and pets
- A profile for each child: school, doctor, allergies, routines, who is allowed to pick them up
- Your wishes for guardianship, and where any legal documents naming a guardian are kept
- Care details for anyone else who depends on you
- Pet profiles: vet, food, medicines, and who has agreed to take them
Section 9: Important documents locator
Rather than stuffing originals into the binder, keep a locator page that says where each document lives: will or trust, powers of attorney, advance directive, deeds, titles, marriage or divorce papers, military records, birth certificates and passports. Add contacts for your professional team, such as an attorney or accountant.
Section 10: Wishes and annual review
- Memorial or funeral wishes, if you have them
- People to notify and how to reach them
- Letters to the people you love, if you want to include them
- A dated review log: each time you update the binder, note the date
Where to keep it, and who should know
Keep the binder somewhere safe but reachable, like a home file cabinet or a fire-resistant box that is not locked with a combination only you know. Tell one or two trusted people that it exists and where it is. Because a binder like this holds sensitive details, record where things are kept rather than full account numbers or passwords, and shred old pages when you replace them.
Keeping it current
- Update the medicine list the same day anything changes
- Pick one date a year, such as a birthday or the first week of January, for a 30-minute review
- Revisit after big life events: a move, a new baby, a marriage or divorce, a new job, a death in the family
Get started with the health section
You can build your binder from plain paper using the checklist above. To start with the medical part, get the free ER-Ready Kit: the one-page Emergency Health Summary, the "Where should I go?" guide and interpreter wallet cards, in English and Spanish.
For the health section, the Family Health Binder: Fillable + iPad Edition ($29) keeps medicines, allergies, conditions, doctors and insurance in one binder, every page in English and Spanish.
Related: For the house itself (shutoffs, breaker map, appliances and maintenance), see our guide on what to put in a house manual.
Want a quick read on where your family stands? Take the free 2-minute Readiness Score quiz.
The Ambos Health team
General information, not legal, financial or medical advice. In an emergency, call 911.