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.