Important Documents to Organize for an Aging Parent
The papers families most often need in a hurry, how to find and organize them calmly, and how to keep them safe and up to date.
Paperwork and documents
Insurance details, powers of attorney, medicine lists, receipts: paperwork is half of caring. Knowing where everything is saves hours in an emergency and helps with benefits and family cost-sharing.
Start here
- Go through the important documents checklist with your relative.
- Fill in the emergency information sheet and keep it by the door.
- Log hours, journeys and costs as they happen.
Turn this into a plan
Add 7 ready-made tasks for this situation to a free care space, with sensible dates, reminders and room for the whole family.
Tools for this
Important documents checklist
Find and record where your relative's key papers are — ID, insurance, power of attorney, will, bank and medical details — before an emergency makes you search.
Senior emergency information sheet
Put contacts, doctors and important notes on one page to keep by the phone or on the fridge.
Caregiver hours & mileage log
Record the hours, journeys and out-of-pocket costs of caring each month, with totals you can export for tax, benefits or family cost-sharing.
Printables for this
Emergency contact sheet
Names, numbers and key details for the phone table or fridge door.
Monthly care budget worksheet
Plan and track the month's care costs against income, with totals worked out for you.
Care team contact list
Every doctor, nurse, pharmacy and service with their numbers.
Household bills tracker
Who supplies what, account numbers, due dates and how each bill is paid.
Read next
Tracking Caregiving Hours, Mileage and Expenses
A simple system for recording the time, travel and money that caregiving takes, and the ways that record pays off.