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Workbook 01

The 72-Hour File

The documents, accounts, and wishes your family will be asked for in the first 72 hours. Twenty-eight pages, twelve sections, filled in by hand or on screen.

Price$37, one payment
FormatPDF, US Letter, twenty-eight pages
EditionsPrint edition, fillable screen edition, one-page fridge summary, wallet card
AccessDownload after checkout. No account, no subscription
Get the 72-Hour File, $37Checkout is handled off site.
Page 6 of the 72-Hour File, the accounts map: every account by institution and type, no numbers.
Page 6 of 28. Every account by institution and type. No numbers.

What is in the The 72-Hour File

Twelve sections. Each one is a short set of questions and a place to write the answer down.

01
Personal and household factslegal name, prior names, addresses, birth and marriage records
02
People to contactwho gets called first, second, and not at all
03
Advance directive and healthcare proxywho speaks for you when you cannot
04
Power of attorneywho signs for you, and the limits you set
05
Will, trust, and where the originals livethe documents and the safe, the box, the attorney
06
Bank, retirement, and investment accountsinstitution, account type, beneficiary on file
07
Insurancelife, health, long-term care, policy numbers and agents
08
Property and titleshome, vehicles, land, storage, safe deposit
09
Recurring bills and subscriptionswhat keeps drafting after a death
10
Digital life and passwordsdevices, email, photos, legacy contacts
11
Funeral, burial, or cremation wisheswhat you want and what you have already paid for
12
Letters and instructionsanything that is not a form

Who it is for

A parent who wants the answers written down before anyone has to ask.
An adult child who has been named and does not know where anything is.
A couple who hold the documents and have never told a second person.
An executor who was just handed a role and a filing cabinet.

If most of this does not apply to you, the The 72-Hour File stays mostly blank. That is still a record of what does not apply. A short honest answer beats a thorough guess.

What it is not

Not a willIt records where your will is and what it says. It does not replace one, and it is not signed or witnessed.
Not a legal formNothing in it is filed with a court or a state.
Not legal, tax, or financial adviceIt is organization.
Not a subscriptionYou buy it once. There is no account and no login.
Not a password managerIt tells your family which accounts exist and how to reach them. Where you record credentials is your decision, and the digital section explains the safer options.

Questions

Do I fill this in by hand or on a screen?

Either. The download has a print edition sized for US Letter and a fillable screen edition. Most people print the sections that go in a folder and type the account map.

Does it ask for account numbers or passwords?

No. It records the institution and the type of account so your family knows what exists and who to call. Numbers belong somewhere else.

Is this valid in my state?

It is not a legal instrument, so there is nothing to make valid. Rules for wills, deeds, and burial differ by state and by property. The file records where the real documents are and who to ask.

What if I stop halfway?

A half-finished file beats an empty drawer. A blank section is still a record of what does not apply. Write what you can answer today and tell two people where it lives.

This guide is for organization and education. It is not legal, tax, financial, or funeral advice. Laws and cemetery rules differ by state and by property. Official documents should be completed with an attorney or the correct state or institution form.

The work is not complicated. Postponing is how the decisions get made for you.

Get the 72-Hour File, $37

Organization and education, not legal or funeral advice. Rules differ by state and by property.