Family Emergency Binder: Free Printable Template (and a 10-Minute Online Version)

By Ben, Founder of DearFile · September 25, 2026

If something happened to you tonight, would your family know who to call first, which bank you use, or where the water shutoff is?

A family emergency binder answers those questions ahead of time. It's a short, plain record of the people, places, and details your family would need if you were suddenly in the hospital, or gone. Some people call it a "death binder" or an "in case I die binder." Whatever you call it, it has one job: be easy to find and easy to read on the worst day of someone's life.

This guide covers what to put in one, what to leave out, and how to keep it useful. You can also download the free printable template. No email required.

Why I care about this

My dad was paralyzed from a neck injury when I was one. He ran our family from a wheelchair and over the phone, and he kept everything in a black bag: documents, policies, contacts. When he died, I was thousands of miles away and my mom was in shock. The bag was in the house. We couldn't find it. The information existed. What was missing was a map that someone else could follow under stress.

What is a family emergency binder?

A family emergency binder is a single place, on paper or online, that tells your loved ones:

Who to call (family, doctor, attorney, accountant, insurance agent)
Where things are (which institutions hold your accounts, where the will is kept, where the spare key is)
What you'd want (health notes, final wishes, a personal message)

It isn't a will and doesn't replace one. Think of it as a letter of instruction that sits next to your legal documents and explains how to find everything else.

What to put in your family emergency binder: the checklist

The free template has six sections. You don't need to fill in every line. A half-finished binder beats a perfect one you never start.

1. People

Start here, because it's what your family will need in the first hour.

Who to call first, second, and third, with phone numbers
Primary doctor and any specialists
Attorney, accountant or tax preparer, financial advisor
Insurance agent(s)
Your employer's HR contact
Who holds legal roles: executor, financial power of attorney, health care proxy, guardian for children

2. Access clues

This is the section people usually get wrong. Write down where your accounts are, not how to get into them.

Banks and credit unions (name, account type, branch or contact)
Retirement and investment accounts (institution, type, who to contact, such as your HR department or advisor)
Insurance policies (insurer, type, agent, where the paperwork is)
Mortgage or lease, vehicles, loans, credit card issuers (names only)
Where important documents are kept: will, trust, deeds, titles, birth and marriage certificates, passports, recent tax returns
Safe deposit box: which bank, and where the key is
Digital life: which password manager you use and whether you've set up its emergency access, and which legacy settings you've turned on

A good entry looks like this: "Fidelity, 401(k). Call HR at my employer for beneficiary forms." A bad entry includes the account number.

3. Household

This is the part most templates skip, and families often feel its absence in the first days.

Spare house and car keys
Water main shutoff, gas shutoff, breaker box
A Wi-Fi clue (a hint only you and your family would get, not the password itself)
Alarm company, plumber, electrician, a neighbor who can help
Trash days, mail, and who can collect packages
Pets: vet, food, medications, and who takes them

4. Health

Allergies (medications, food, other)
Medical conditions and current medications with doses
Doctors, preferred hospital, pharmacy
Health insurer name and where the card is kept
Where your advance directive or living will is kept
Organ donor preference

5. Wishes

What matters most to you if you're seriously ill
Burial, cremation, or other preferences
Service details: place, faith, music, readings, who should speak
Any prepaid funeral arrangements
Personal items you'd like specific people to have
Charities for donations in your name

These notes aren't legally binding. If something must be enforceable, put it in your will or advance directive and talk to an attorney.

6. A personal note

The last section is a blank page for whatever you'd want them to read. It doesn't need to be long.

The one-page "who to call first" sheet

The template also includes a one-page emergency contact list meant to sit on top of everything else, or on the fridge. It covers the first five calls, your doctor, attorney, accountant, insurance agent, employer, who can take the kids or pets today, where the spare key is, and any allergies a hospital must know. If you only fill in one page tonight, make it this one.

What NOT to put in a family emergency binder (and why)

Many printable templates include blank lines for passwords, PINs, account numbers, and Social Security numbers. We deliberately left them out. Here's why.

A binder is a physical object. It can be lost in a move, left on a counter, photographed by a visitor, or taken in a break-in. Anything written in it should be harmless in the wrong hands.

Your family doesn't need account numbers to get started. Once someone has legal authority to act for you (as your executor or power of attorney, for example), the bank, brokerage, or insurer can look up your accounts from your name and the paperwork they're asked to provide. What your family actually lacks in a crisis is knowing which institutions to call. A list of names solves that.

Passwords change, and binders don't. A written password is usually out of date within a year, and a wrong one can lock an account. For digital access, use the tools built for it:

Your password manager's emergency access feature, if it has one (Bitwarden, for example, calls it Emergency Access)
Apple's Legacy Contact
Google's Inactive Account Manager
Facebook's legacy contact setting

Then write in the binder that you've set these up, and for whom.

Never write:

Passwords or PINs
Full account, card, or policy numbers
Social Security numbers
Security question answers
Online banking login details

Where to keep it, and how to tell your family

The most common way a binder fails isn't that it's incomplete. It's that nobody knows it exists, or where it is. That's exactly what happened to my family.

A few practical rules:

Pick a place a stressed person could find. A labeled binder on a home office shelf beats a hidden drawer. If you use a locked fire safe, make sure at least two people know where the key or code is.
Tell at least two people. One should live with you and one shouldn't. Name them on the cover page.
Say it out loud, briefly. Try: "I put together a folder with who to call and where things are, in case anything ever happens. It's on the shelf in the office. I'd feel better knowing you know."
Plan for distance. A binder at home doesn't help an adult child three time zones away. Consider giving a copy to them or your executor. With no passwords or account numbers inside, a copy is low risk.

How to keep it updated

A binder that was accurate five years ago can send your family to a closed account or a retired doctor. Keep it current with a simple routine:

Once a year. Pick a date you'll remember, like a birthday or tax season, and write it on the cover.
After any life change. A move, new job, marriage, divorce, new baby, new doctor, new insurance policy, a refinanced mortgage, or a new financial advisor.
Use the update log. The last page of the template has space to note what changed and who you told.

Paper or online?

Paper is free and private. Its weak spots are the ones that hurt my family: it's in one place, easy to forget, and hard to update.

If you'd rather keep it online, I built DearFile around the same core sections: People, Access Clues, Household, Wishes, and a Note. You answer five questions and watch your file build as you go, and you can save it free. On paid plans, trusted contacts confirm their role ahead of time. You choose how often to check in, and if you go quiet, DearFile sends you three warning emails before your trusted contacts are notified. The DearFile Legacy plan and the annual DearFile Ready plan also include an encrypted offline archive your family can open without DearFile. On Legacy, that access is permanent, even if DearFile ever closes. On annual Ready, it lasts for 12 months after you cancel. That matters in this category: Cake was acquired and then deactivated user accounts in June 2025, and Lantern announced it would shut down after its acquisition by Wellthy. Like the binder, DearFile never asks for passwords.

Either way, the best binder is the one that exists. Print the free template or start your file free in five questions.

FAQ

What should be in a family emergency binder?

The essentials are who to call (family and professionals), where your accounts and documents are (institution names only), household details like spare keys and shutoffs, health information, your wishes, and a personal note. Our free template covers all six.

Is it safe to keep a family emergency binder at home?

Yes, if you leave out anything a thief could use: passwords, PINs, account numbers, and Social Security numbers. Then a lost or stolen binder exposes names and phone numbers, not money.

What's the difference between a family emergency binder and a will?

A will is a legal document that says who gets what and who's in charge. A binder is an informal guide that helps your family find people, accounts, and documents, including the will. You need both; talk to an attorney about the will.

How often should I update my emergency binder?

At least once a year, and after any major life change: a move, new job, marriage or divorce, new baby, or new insurance policy.

Is there a free family emergency binder template?

Yes. Our free printable family emergency binder template is a no-signup PDF with fill-in pages for People, Access Clues, Household, Health, Wishes, and a Personal Note, plus a one-page "who to call first" sheet. Prefer an online version? Build one free on DearFile.

This article is general information, not legal, financial, or medical advice.