Most of us mean to get our affairs in order and imagine it as a huge project, so we never start. Here is the reassuring truth: the version that would genuinely help your family if something happened to you takes about an hour. Not perfect, not complete, but a solid “just in case” that turns a potential nightmare into something manageable. Set a timer and work through this.
Minutes 0 to 15: access to the essentials
Start with the thing that unlocks everything else.
- Make sure your main email is secure and a trusted person could reach it in an emergency.
- Set up emergency access on a password manager, or at least make sure your partner can pay the essential bills.
Email is the master key, because it resets most other accounts. Sort this first and you have done the most valuable fifteen minutes.
Minutes 15 to 35: the map
Write a short list of what exists and where:
- The key accounts: bank, mortgage or rent, pensions, insurance.
- Where the important documents live: will, passports, policies, deeds.
- Your emergency contacts, GP and any advisers.
You are not writing detail or amounts, just a map so nobody has to be a detective on a bad day.
Minutes 35 to 50: the wishes
Note the things your family would otherwise have to guess:
- Whether you have a will and a lasting power of attorney, and where they are.
- Any care or medical wishes.
- Anything about your digital accounts and what should happen to them.
If you do not have a will or an LPA, write down that this is the next thing to sort. Naming the gap is useful.
Minutes 50 to 60: tell someone
The final, essential step. Tell one trusted person that this exists and how to reach it. A perfect setup nobody knows about helps no one. That last ten minutes is what turns your hour of effort into something your family could actually use.
Where FamilySafe fits
An hour with a notebook is a brilliant start. FamilySafe is where that same information can live properly: secure, linked to the documents, and shared with the right people on your terms, so the “just in case” is always current and always reachable. Your life, organised, and your family, ready.
Frequently asked questions
Can I really do something useful in an hour?
Yes. You will not cover everything, but securing email access, writing a simple map and noting your wishes gives your family the essentials, which is far more than most people leave.
What is the single most important step?
Making sure a trusted person could reach your main email, because it resets most other accounts, and telling them the setup exists.
What if I do not have a will or LPA?
Note that as the next job. Recording the gap is useful in itself, and it makes it far more likely you will get to it.
