Keeping Track of the Practical Details: Accounts, Subscriptions, and Where Things Are Kept

There is a kind of knowledge that lives entirely in your head — the sort that seems completely ordinary to you but would be difficult, or even impossible, for your family to piece together without you.

Which streaming services are billed to which card? Where is the passbook for the savings account you opened years ago? Who is your accountant, and how does your family reach them? Where exactly is the key to the safe-deposit box, and which bank is it in?

These are not dramatic questions. They are practical ones. But in the weeks after a loss, when your family is trying to manage affairs while still grieving, this kind of information can take an extraordinary amount of time and energy to uncover — if it can be found at all.

Recording it now takes an afternoon. Not recording it can take your family months.

The Information That Falls Through the Cracks

Most families know to look for a will and a list of assets. What catches people off guard is the quieter, more everyday layer — the subscriptions that keep auto-renewing, the online accounts that hold important documents, the recurring bills that no one thought to cancel.

Consider just a few of the things families often struggle to track down:

• Recurring subscriptions — streaming services, online news, software tools, membership clubs — many of which are charged automatically and quietly.
• Insurance policies: life, home, car, supplemental health. Which company? What policy number? Who is the contact?
• Banking and investment accounts, including any accounts that may not be in regular use.
• Safe-deposit box location and the whereabouts of the key.
• Login information for email accounts or online accounts that hold important documents.
• Contact details for your accountant, financial adviser, solicitor, or other trusted professionals.
• Any automatic payments or direct debits — utility bills, charitable donations, loan payments — that should be reviewed or cancelled.

None of these are complicated things to record. But taken together, they represent a significant piece of practical knowledge that only you currently hold.

Where Things Are Kept

Beyond accounts and subscriptions, there is another layer worth noting: the physical "where."

Where are your important documents stored? Is there a filing cabinet, a folder in a desk drawer, a lockbox in the bedroom? Where are the originals of your will, your birth certificate, your marriage certificate?

If your home has a safe, where is it, and what is the combination or key? If you use a safe-deposit box at a bank, which branch, and where is the key kept?

It seems obvious to you. It will not be obvious to anyone else. Noting it simply and clearly — "important documents are in the blue folder in the top drawer of the study; safe-deposit box is at the branch on Main Street, key is on the small hook inside the hall cupboard" — removes a great deal of uncertainty and stress.

Trusted Advisers Your Family Should Know

If you have professionals who manage important parts of your financial or legal affairs, your family will need to reach them. This is especially important if there are ongoing tax matters, investment accounts, or legal arrangements in place.

For each person, note their name, their firm or practice, a phone number and email address, and a brief note about the nature of your relationship — "our accountant who has handled our taxes for the past twelve years" is all the context needed.

Subscriptions: A Small Detail With Real Consequences

It is worth giving subscriptions their own moment of attention. Recurring charges that go unnoticed can add up over many months, and cancelling them often requires account access, login credentials, or a phone call to a service the family does not even know exists.

A simple list — service name, approximate monthly cost, and how it is billed (which card, or direct debit from which account) — is all that is needed. You do not need to include passwords; just enough information so your family knows what exists and where to look.

You Don't Have to Do It All at Once

If this feels like a large task, start with the things your family would most struggle to find on their own. Perhaps the insurance policies. Perhaps the contact details for your financial adviser. Even a partial record is far better than nothing.

You can return to it over time, adding things as you think of them. Keeping one clear, organized document — and making sure someone you trust knows where it is — means your family will not have to search.

The Gift of Being Findable

There is something deeply reassuring about knowing that the information your family will need is written down and waiting for them. Not because anything is imminent, but because life can be unpredictable — and the people who love you deserve to be spared the confusion and frustration of not knowing where to look.

This kind of practical preparation is one of the most quietly loving things you can do. It asks very little of you now, and it gives a great deal to the people who will need it later.

If you would like a structured place to record this kind of information — alongside your other wishes and important documents — Final Wishes is designed to hold exactly these kinds of practical details, safely and clearly.