Estate planning covers what happens after a death. This covers the far more likely event: a hospitalisation, an accident abroad, or a stretch where one person in the household simply cannot handle logistics.
Medical — needed in the first two hours
- Blood group and known allergies for every family member
- Current medications and dosages
- Chronic conditions and treating doctor's contact
- Health insurance policy number, TPA helpline and cashless network hospitals
- Employer group cover details, which often has a higher limit than the retail policy
Money — needed in the first two days
- Which account pays the EMIs, the school fees and the utilities, and when they auto-debit
- Which cards exist and their limits
- Where liquid emergency funds sit, and who can access them without the primary holder
- Any account with a joint holder — this is the account that keeps working
Access — the part that is always missing
- Phone unlock method and where the backup device is
- Primary email recovery method
- Where the 2FA device or authenticator backup codes are
- Bank locker branch, number, key location and joint holder
- Where physical documents live: policies, deeds, passports
People
- Two emergency contacts outside the household
- The family doctor, the CA and the lawyer, if any
- Employer HR contact for group cover and salary continuity
- Neighbour or relative with a spare key
The household layer
- Pet care: food, vet, and who takes them
- School contacts and pickup authorisation for children
- Domestic help schedules and payment arrangements
- Any ritual or funeral preferences the family should know
Where to keep it
A printed one-pager at home covering the non-sensitive items, plus an encrypted vault for anything that grants access. Never keep passwords on the printed sheet. Tell exactly two people that both exist.
Saarthi holds the sensitive half of this kit in an encrypted vault with per-member privacy tiers, so the right person sees the right thing without everything being exposed to everyone.
Saarthi is a readiness and organization platform. It does not provide legal, tax, investment, or financial advice. Any generated drafts, checklists, or recommendations should be reviewed with qualified professionals before use.