Why I Made the “If You Ever Need Me” Binder

Nobody expects to lose someone they love without warning. I certainly didn’t.

When my son passed away, it was completely unexpected. Along with the grief came questions we had never imagined having to answer so soon. We had to figure out information about his accounts, vehicles, and other parts of his life. Every answer seemed to lead to another question.

I would have done anything for him. I just wish we’d had an easier way to find what we needed during such a painful time.

That experience changed how I think about being prepared. It made me realize this isn’t only something older people should think about. Life doesn’t always give us time to put everything in order later.

What would my children need to know?

I started asking myself a simple question: If something happened to me unexpectedly, what would my children have to figure out?

Would they know whom to call? Where to find the insurance information? Which bills need attention? Who cares for the pets? Where are the important documents?

I’ve made arrangements for my family. But even with those decisions made, my children would still need practical information. An account or a document doesn’t tell them everything about the day-to-day details of my life.

I don’t want my children I leave behind to spend their first days trying to piece it all together while they’re grieving.

A place to leave the answers

That’s why I created the If You Ever Need Me binder. It gives me one place to write down information my family might need: important contacts, medical and medication details, household information, insurance, vehicles, pets, and where to find documents and accounts.

It isn’t something you have to finish in one sitting. You can start with the contact page, then come back to another section when you have time. You can update it as life changes. Some pages may matter to your family more than others.

The binder doesn’t make hard moments easy. Nothing can do that. My hope is that it can take away some of the searching and guessing, so a loved one has a clearer place to begin.

You can start with one page

If you’ve been meaning to organize this information, you don’t have to wait until you have everything figured out. Start with one question: If someone I love needed to step in tomorrow, what would they need to know first?

Write that answer down. Tell them where to find it. Then build from there.

I made this binder because of what my family went through, and because I want to leave my children something more useful than a pile of unanswered questions.

See the If You Ever Need Me binder on Etsy