The Family Owner's Manual
If something happened to the person who manages everything, could anyone else find the accounts, the assets, the policies, the estate documents — or even know who to call? An owner's manual is the one document that answers that.
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What Belongs Inside
1 · Emergency page
The first five calls: who to contact immediately, in what order, with phone numbers.
2 · Advisor roster
Every advisor and provider — attorney, CPA, wealth manager, insurance, banker — and what each one handles.
3 · Document locations
Where the wills, trusts, deeds, titles, tax returns, and policies physically and digitally live.
4 · Account inventory
Every institution and account type with how it is titled — deliberately without numbers or credentials.
5 · Entities & assets
The entity list and ownership chart, properties, vehicles, vessels, collections — and who manages each.
6 · Insurance schedule
Each policy, its carrier, its broker, what it covers, and renewal timing.
7 · Estate plan summary
Which documents exist, who the fiduciaries are, and which attorney drafted them — a pointer, not the plan itself.
8 · Digital access & continuity
Where credentials are managed (a password manager, never this document) and how emergency access is granted.
9 · First 30 days
Plain instructions for incapacity or death: what to pay, what to freeze, what can wait, who leads.
The Rules That Make It Work
No secrets on paper. The manual points to where credentials are managed — it never contains passwords, PINs, account numbers, or safe combinations. That is what makes it safe to exist.
Store it like it matters. A physical copy in a known secure place, a digital copy with controlled access, and the estate attorney told where it lives.
Review it on a schedule. Twice a year, or after any major change — a sale, a new entity, a new advisor. An out-of-date map misleads.
Tell the right people. A manual nobody knows about helps nobody. Spouse, successor, estate attorney — at minimum.