Caregiver checklist

If you care for a parent or loved one, find out these 10 things before an emergency.

A hospital stay or loss of independence is a difficult time to start searching for answers. Use these questions to have a practical conversation together, while your loved one can decide what to share.

See the 10 questions

Start with the answers most likely to be needed first. Check what is current, where it is kept, and who should be able to find it.

  1. Medications and allergies

    Ask what they take, what they are allergic to, and where the current list is. Bring it to appointments and review it whenever prescriptions change.

  2. Doctors and care contacts

    Know who treats them, how to reach those offices, and whom they want contacted if they go to the hospital.

  3. Medical wishes

    Ask whether they have an advance directive and where a copy can be found. Talk about their wishes while they can explain them.

  4. Health care decision maker

    Find out whom they have chosen to make health care decisions if they cannot speak, and where the signed document is kept.

  5. Financial power of attorney

    Ask whether they have named someone to manage finances if needed. A record of the document does not itself give a caregiver legal authority.

  6. Essential bills

    List the mortgage or rent, utilities, insurance premiums, and other payments that must continue during a long hospital stay.

  7. Insurance policies

    Know where the current health, home, auto, and life policies and contact details are. Check that the information is current.

  8. Accounts and property

    Identify where to find account and debt records, deeds, vehicle titles, and professional contacts. Let your loved one decide what to share.

  9. Will

    Ask where the signed will is kept and when it was last reviewed. A will concerns what happens after death; it does not replace documents for decisions during incapacity.

  10. Family plan

    Agree who should be called first, who holds copies, and how the right people will locate information when it is needed.

Start the conversation

Knowing where to look is a form of care.

You do not need to settle every question in one sitting. Ask one this week, write down the answer, and revisit it when something changes.

Your loved one decides which records to share and with whom. Locating a will or power of attorney does not make someone a decision maker; the relevant documents and applicable law establish authority.

Government guidance

Read further from trusted public sources.

The National Institute on Aging covers advance care planning and getting affairs in order. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains financial planning and authority. USAGov outlines tasks after a death.

Sources

Make important records easier to find.

EnsureLoc helps keep important records organized, in one secure location, and accessible anywhere. You choose which records to share with a Trusted Connection.

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