• Home and property

  Who has a key, the alarm, where mail goes, where the sale documents are, the mortgage and home insurance, other real estate and vehicles.

• People and pets who depend on you

  Dependents with their documents, emergency carers and doctor, and pets with their care and vet.

• Money and papers

  Banks, investments, bills to pay or cancel, tax returns, your accountant, and money you owe or are owed.

• Where records are

  Your birth certificate, identity papers, education, marriage, military, citizenship and retirement records, and any secure storage.

• Where, never what

  For devices and online accounts it asks only where the record is kept. It never asks for a password or code.

• Every group is optional

  Answer only what you want whoever steps in to know.

• A lawyer reviews it before it is used

  Your answers are prepared into a draft and reviewed by a qualified lawyer, rather than handed back to you as a finished form.

Just-in-case instructions are a household and affairs guide for whoever has to step in if you suddenly cannot manage. They record where things are and who to call: your home, your accounts, the people and pets who depend on you, your papers and where they are kept. They are guidance for people, not a legal instrument.

This builder walks through your home (keys, alarm, mail, mortgage and insurance), other property and vehicles, work, dependents and pets, health, money, the estate documents you already have, where your important records are, and where you keep a record of your devices and online accounts. Every group is optional, and a group you skip does not appear in the document.

The builder never asks for a password, PIN or access code. It asks only where the record of them is kept. The document says it is not a will, a living will or a power of attorney, and it gives no one authority to act for you.

Not sure? Talk to an attorney about your situation first.

These are separate documents, for different jobs.

• Personal care profileShare your routines and care preferences with those caring for you.View document
• End-of-life planWrite down your wishes for your final arrangements.View document
• Living willRecord your wishes about medical treatment in advance.View document
• Power of attorneyName someone you trust to handle your finances if you can't.View document

• Before a major operation
• Before a long trip
• After a diagnosis
• When you are the only one who knows where things are

• Last will and testamentSet out who inherits and who carries out your wishes.View document
• CodicilChange part of an existing will without rewriting it.View document
• Pour-over willA will that passes whatever is left into your trust.View document
• Estate-planning documentsThe documents that plan how your estate is handled.View document