Family-file handover: blank checklist

FAMILY-FILE HANDOVER WORKSHEET DearFile | Original guide published October 7, 2026 Guide: https://dearfile.com/blog/family-file-handover-checklist

Check one instruction with one willing adult. Use your own paper or private note. There is no time target or overall family score. Keep the owner available and let the helper use the written directions without extra hints.

Choose one task

• [ ] Insurance contact: Find the current provider's contact for the named purpose, locate the policy record, and explain what needs checking before discussing it for the owner.
• [ ] Document location: Find the agreed envelope, file, or named document holder. Explain how you know it is the intended item and what the next step would be.
• [ ] Water-shutoff information: Find this home's confirmed information and the relevant building, utility, or plumber contact. Explain whom to contact if it cannot be used safely. Do not operate equipment.
• [ ] Another agreed information lookup: _______________________________

1. agree before starting

Practice date: ______________________________________________________
Owner and willing helper: ___________________________________________
Exact task: _________________________________________________________
Starting place the helper would normally use: ________________________
Rooms, folders, files, or pages included: _____________________________
What may be located: ________________________________________________
What may be opened or read: __________________________________________
Where to stop: ______________________________________________________
Usual language, text size, or tools needed: ___________________________

Either person may stop or choose a smaller task. Finding an envelope does not permit opening, photographing, copying, or sending it. Agree separately before those actions. Use only existing authorized access. Do not use the owner's account or logged-in session.

Owner's check before practice:

• [ ] I checked that the intended document, contact, or household information is current.
• [ ] There is already a gap to resolve before someone relies on it.

What I checked and when, without private document contents: __________
____________________________________________________________________

2. follow the note

Start at the agreed place. The owner stays available but does not point, open the right page, or add clues. Ask the helper: "What does the note tell you to do next?"

If a question or block arises, pause and record it before explaining. Do not search unrelated records, share credentials, reset passwords, or change access settings to finish the exercise.

For the water-information task, do not turn valves, lift utility covers, use tools, enter unsafe or confined spaces, or touch gas or electrical controls. Unverified information is a gap for the appropriate building contact, water provider, or qualified plumber to resolve.

No calls, claims, payments, or account changes are part of this exercise. Do not simulate an emergency, deliberately miss a real check-in, trigger emergency-access features, or call emergency services for practice. If a real problem occurs, stop the exercise.

3. record what actually happened

Use Yes, No, or Not tried for each check.

Found the starting instructions without extra hints: _________________
Found the intended contact/item/information within the boundaries: ___
Owner checked that the result is the intended current one: ___________
Helper explained the next step and its limits without extra hints: ___

What the helper found, without copying private contents: _____________
____________________________________________________________________
Next step in the helper's own words: _________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Exact point where they stopped or asked a question: __________________
____________________________________________________________________
Any extra hint the owner gave: _______________________________________

Result

• [ ] Pass for this task: All four checks were met without extra hints.
• [ ] Gap: We found a specific problem during the owner's preliminary check or the lookup.
• [ ] Not tried: We did not attempt the task or stopped before checking it.

If you found a problem and then stopped, record Gap, not Not tried.

Gap type, if any:

• [ ] Starting point [ ] Directions [ ] Access
• [ ] Current information [ ] Next step [ ] Format

Name the scope of the pass or the remaining gap: ______________________
____________________________________________________________________

Keep separate questions open even if the lookup passes. Finding an insurer's contact does not establish authority to discuss a policy. Finding a document does not establish its legal effect. Finding a water-shutoff note does not show that equipment works or can be operated safely.

Separate question still open: _______________________________________
Who will confirm it, with whom, and by when: _________________________

4. make one repair

Choose a repair that addresses the actual obstacle:

• Unknown starting point: agree on one place and a pointer the helper can find.
• Ambiguous directions: add the exact room, drawer, label, or shared folder path.
• Old or missing item: owner confirms the current version; keep the gap open until then.
• Blocked access: establish the proper arrangement separately, without sharing the owner's login.
• Unclear next step: name the action, contact or holder, and stopping point.
• Hard-to-use format: revise it with the helper using their usual language and tools.

Exact change to make: _______________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Person responsible and agreed date: _________________________________
Where the actual instructions will be updated: _______________________
Who needs the revised instruction: __________________________________

Replace or mark superseded instruction sheets. Do not destroy underlying legal, financial, or insurance records just to tidy this exercise.

5. retest the revised note

Try again only if both people agree. Start from the original starting place. Use the revised note rather than coaching. Record a hint as a gap, not an unassisted success. If the helper remembers the earlier attempt, note that limit.

Retest date: ________________________________________________________
Result: Pass for this task / Gap / Not tried
What worked or remains unresolved: __________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Any extra hint or reliance on the earlier explanation: ________________
Next action, responsible person, and date if still needed: ____________

Recheck when the item moves, the provider or helper changes, or access changes. Agree on permissions separately with a new helper.

Keep this record private

Leave out passwords, PINs, recovery codes, account and card numbers, identity numbers, and document contents. Locations can be private too. Share only with the agreed people, and keep the finished worksheet with your private household instructions.

This exercise checks only the task and permissions actually tried. It does not grant account access or legal authority, verify legal documents, assess medical readiness, certify emergency preparedness, or establish equipment safety.