Document your accounts and passwords for your household

Inventory what keeps the household running

Start with anything that would cause a problem within thirty days if nobody touched it.

• Bank, credit card, and loan accounts
• Mortgage or rent, utilities, phone, internet
• Insurance policies and pension or retirement accounts
• Recurring subscriptions and autopay arrangements
• Email accounts used for password resets

Use a password manager, not a spreadsheet

A password manager with emergency access is the cleanest solution: your partner or an executor can request access without you sharing credentials day to day.

• Set up shared vaults for household accounts
• Turn on emergency or legacy access for one trusted person
• Store two-factor recovery codes in the vault, not on a phone only

Write a one-page household operating note

Plain language, no jargon, printed and stored with your legal documents.

• Which account pays which bill, and on what date
• Where income arrives and what is on autopay
• Who to call: advisor, insurer, landlord, employer HR
• Where the deeds, titles, and policies live

Do a dry run

Once a year, have the other person pay one bill and log into one account from the record. Anything they cannot do is a gap.