What they would need to know.

• Where the important documents physically are.
• Which accounts exist, and at which institutions — not the passwords.
• Where the password manager lives, and who can open it.
• The bills that keep the lights on and how they get paid.
• Who to call first, second, and third.
• The pets, the plants, the standing commitments nobody else knows about.
• Anything you would want said, in your own handwriting.

How the night goes

This is the one people put off. It is also the shortest. Most of it is location, not decision — you are writing down where things are, not choosing what happens to them.

An hour, honestly. Then it goes in the drawer next to the other two and you tell one person it exists.

A plain word about this one

This is not a will and it is not a trust. It does not transfer anything, decide anything, or carry legal weight. It is a note to the people who would otherwise be searching your desk. If you want a will, see a lawyer in your state — this file will make that conversation shorter.