The account inventory: what to list (and why it matters most)
The hardest part of sorting someone’s affairs isn’t access — it’s knowing what exists. A simple inventory of accounts and policies is the most useful thing you can keep.
On this page
Ask anyone who’s sorted out a relative’s affairs what the hard part was, and it’s rarely passwords — it’s figuring out what existed. An account inventory is the fix.
What to list
- Money in: current and savings accounts, pensions, investments, income sources.
- Protection: life, home, car and other insurance policies.
- Money out: utilities, subscriptions, memberships, regular direct debits.
- Debts: mortgage, loans, credit cards.
- For each: what it is, the provider, and where to find the details.
Why it beats everything else
Pair it with making sure your partner can find everything and an ‘in case of emergency’ file.
In short
An account inventory lists everything financial that exists — accounts, pensions, policies, subscriptions, debts — with the provider and where to find the details, never the secrets. It matters more than passwords because the real difficulty is discovering what exists. Keep it in one shared place and review it yearly.
Frequently asked questions
What should an account inventory include?
Each account or policy: what it is (current account, pension, life insurance…), the provider, and where to find the details — plus roughly what it’s for. List bank and savings accounts, pensions, investments, insurance policies, utilities, subscriptions, and any debts or loans. Record where to find things, never full account numbers or passwords.
Why is a list of accounts more important than passwords?
Because you can recover access to a known account, but you can’t deal with one you don’t know exists. Families repeatedly find the hard part after a death or illness is simply working out what accounts and policies there were — an inventory solves exactly that.
How often should I update it?
Review it about once a year, and whenever something big changes — a new account, a closed policy, a switched provider. A list that’s gone stale is nearly as unhelpful as no list, so tie it to a regular date you’ll remember.