Organising your paperwork: a folder your family will need

Last checked November 2026. Offers and rules change: confirm with the provider before you rely on them.

One clearly labelled folder that lists what you have and where it is kept will save your family weeks of searching if you are taken ill or die. It does not need to hold every document: a simple list of accounts, policies and contacts, kept up to date, does most of the work.

What the folder is for

Think of two situations. In the first, you are in hospital and someone needs to pay your bills and talk to your bank. In the second, you have died and your executors need to find everything you owned and owed. In both, the people helping you are starting from nothing unless you have left them a map.

A lever-arch file with dividers, an expanding file, or a document box all work. Label it plainly, such as "Important papers", and tell at least one person you trust where it is.

What to put in it

1. About you

Full name, date of birth, National Insurance number and NHS number
Where to find your birth and marriage or civil partnership certificates, and any divorce papers
Passport and driving licence numbers
GP surgery, and a current list of your medicines

2. Legal documents

Where the original of your will is kept, and your executors' names and phone numbers
Any power of attorney, with your attorneys' details
Your solicitor's name and address
Funeral wishes, and details of any funeral plan

3. Money

Every bank and building society account: the provider and the account number (not the PIN)
Savings, ISAs, Premium Bonds, shares and investments
Pensions: State Pension, every workplace and private scheme, with reference numbers
Benefits you receive, such as Pension Credit or Attendance Allowance
Credit cards, loans, and anything you owe or are owed

4. Insurance

Life insurance and any over-50s plan
Home, car, travel and pet policies, with renewal dates. See our home insurance guide.

5. Your home

Deeds or the Land Registry title number, mortgage or equity release lender, or your landlord and tenancy agreement
Council Tax account, and gas, electricity, water, phone and broadband suppliers

6. Everything else

Car documents: the V5C log book, MOT and service history

Tip: Start with a single sheet of paper headed "Who I bank with, who pays my pension, who insures me". That one page is the most useful thing in the folder. Add the rest gradually.

Passwords and online accounts

More and more of life is online only: bank statements, energy accounts, photographs, email. If nobody knows these accounts exist, they can be very hard to trace.

List your online accounts in the folder: email, banking, shopping, utilities, social media, photo storage. Write down that the account exists and the email address it uses.
Do not write passwords or PINs on the same list. Use a password manager or a separate password book kept somewhere secure, and tell your executor or attorney how to get to it. Our guide to passwords made simple explains the options.
Never share your banking log-in, even with family. It usually breaks the bank's terms and can lose you protection against fraud. If someone needs to help with your money, use a proper arrangement: see shopping for someone else and lasting power of attorney.
Check the legacy settings. Some email, phone and social media providers let you name a person who can access or close your account after you die. Look in the account's security or privacy settings.

Watch out: A folder like this is valuable to a thief. Keep it out of sight, not on a hall table, and never hand it to a caller at the door or read details from it to someone who phones you. See spotting scams.

How long to keep documents

There are few fixed legal rules for private individuals. This is a practical guide; where an official rule exists we say so.

Document	Keep for
Birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates; will; powers of attorney; property deeds; pension paperwork	Permanently
Tax records, if you fill in a tax return	GOV.UK says at least 22 months after the end of the tax year, if the return was sent on time. Longer if you are self-employed.
P60s, pension statements and benefit award letters	Keep the most recent, and several years' worth if space allows. They are useful evidence for benefit claims.
Bank and savings statements	A sensible minimum is the current and previous tax year. Many people keep six years. Paperless statements can usually be downloaded when needed.
Insurance policies	While in force, and for a few years afterwards in case of a late claim
Receipts and guarantees for larger purchases	For as long as you own the item. See your consumer rights.

Keep it up to date

Pick a date each year, such as the week your Council Tax bill arrives, to go through the folder.
Update it when you change bank, switch energy supplier, take out or cancel a policy, or move home.

When the folder is eventually needed, it gives your family what they must have for registering a death and for Tell Us Once. Age UK publishes a free printable organiser for recording these details, and MoneyHelper has guidance on sorting out money after a death.

Common questions

Should I keep the originals in the folder?

Keep certificates and policies together if you can. For the will, a note saying where the original is held is enough. Consider a fire-resistant document box for originals kept at home.

Who should know about the folder?

Your executors and attorneys at least. If you live alone, a trusted neighbour or friend who knows it exists, and whom to phone, is also sensible.

I have lost track of an old account or pension. Can it be traced?

Yes. There are free official tracing services for lost bank accounts, savings and pensions. Start with the Pension Tracing Service on GOV.UK, or ask Citizens Advice which service to use.