If something happened to you tomorrow, would your family know where your money is? Many would not. Accounts are spread across banks, brokers, fund houses, insurers and employers, and often only one person in the household knows the full picture.
Organising your financial documents takes a few hours once and a short review each year. This article sets out what to record, how to store it safely, what never to write down, and how to keep it current.
Why it matters
Large sums go unclaimed in India every year: dormant bank accounts, forgotten mutual fund folios, unclaimed dividends, lapsed insurance and old provident fund balances. Much of it belongs to families who simply did not know the accounts existed.
Even when the family knows an account exists, claiming it needs details: account numbers, the institution's contact, the nominee recorded, and documents. Searching for these during a time of grief is hard.
A clear record also helps you while you are alive. It shows your whole financial position at a glance, highlights duplicated or forgotten accounts, and makes annual reviews easier.
It matters most in households where one person handles all the money. If that person is unavailable, through illness as much as death, the other members may not know which bills are due, which policies exist, or where the salary account is. A shared record removes that single point of failure.
What to record
Bank accounts and deposits: bank, branch, account type, last four digits of the number, and nominee.
Demat and trading accounts: broker, depository, client ID, and nominee.
Mutual funds: fund houses and folio numbers, or simply a note that a consolidated account statement lists them all.
Retirement accounts: provident fund UAN, PPF account, pension accounts.
Insurance: insurer, policy number, type (life, health, home, vehicle), sum assured, nominee, and agent or helpline.
Loans and liabilities: home, vehicle and personal loans, credit cards, and any money lent to others or owed to them. Liabilities matter as much as assets.
Property: location, where the title documents are kept, and any co-owners.
Will: whether one exists, where the original is, and who the executor is.
Key contacts: chartered accountant, lawyer, financial adviser, employer's HR, and anyone else the family should call.
Digital assets and subscriptions: email accounts, cloud storage, and recurring payments that should be stopped.
What not to write down
Never write passwords, PINs, OTP-linked details or full card numbers in the document. If the file is lost or seen by the wrong person, it becomes a fraud kit.
Instead, record how the family can gain access through proper channels: the institution's process for claims, the nominee recorded, and where original documents are kept.
If you want a trusted person to be able to access online accounts in an emergency, use a reputable password manager that offers emergency access features, or store sealed credentials with your will through your lawyer. Understand that institutions generally expect claims to go through formal processes rather than a relative logging in as you.
Avoid sharing complete account numbers in messaging apps or email. The last four digits plus the institution's name is usually enough for identification, with full details in the original documents.
Storing it safely
One master document listing everything, kept both on paper and digitally.
A physical folder with original documents: property papers, insurance policies, the will, and key statements. Keep it in one known place, protected from water and fire.
A digital copy in encrypted storage, with access for at least one trusted person.
Tell someone. The best document is useless if nobody knows it exists. Tell your spouse, an adult child or your executor where it is and walk them through it once.
Consolidated statements help. Depositories and registrars provide consolidated account statements showing shares and mutual funds across many accounts. Keeping the latest one with your records gives a current snapshot without listing every holding manually.
A simple layout to start from
A spreadsheet or a few printed pages is enough. One workable layout:
Page 1: the summary. Your name, the date updated, where the will and original documents are kept, the executor, and the three people the family should call first.
Page 2: assets. One row per account: institution, type, last four digits, nominee, and where its statements arrive (email, post, app).
Page 3: insurance. Insurer, policy number, type, cover, nominee, and claim helpline.
Page 4: liabilities. Lender, loan type, approximate outstanding amount at last review, EMI date, and whether any loan has insurance attached that would repay it.
Page 5: recurring payments and digital accounts. SIPs, insurance premiums, subscriptions and utilities that run automatically, and which ones should be stopped or transferred.
Page 6: the letter of instruction. Plain-language first steps.
Start with whatever you can complete in one sitting, even if it is only page 2. A partial record that exists is far more useful than a perfect one that never gets written. Then fill in the rest over the following weeks, and put the yearly review in your calendar.
Keeping it current
Review once a year, perhaps at the same time as your tax filing or annual investment review. Add new accounts, remove closed ones, and check nominations.
Close what you don't need. Dormant bank accounts, unused demat accounts and scattered folios make everything harder. Consolidating them reduces the list your family would need to chase.
Update after life events: marriage, children, a new job, a house purchase, or a death in the family.
Check nominations everywhere. Nominations on old accounts may name people who have died or relationships that have changed.
Write a short letter of instruction. Beyond the list, a page in plain language explaining what to do first, who to call, and any wishes not in the will can be enormously helpful to a family under stress.
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This is general educational material, not legal, tax or investment advice. We run no tips group and no signal service, we manage nobody's money, and no return is promised.
Disclosure: the account-opening link on this page is under Atul Shrivastava's Zerodha Authorised Person registration (NSE AP Reg: AP2516003481; Zerodha Broking Ltd. SEBI Reg: INZ000031633) and earns a revenue share. TheFinBaba is not a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser — this content is educational, not investment advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What financial documents should I organise for my family?
A list of bank, demat, mutual fund, retirement and insurance accounts with nominees, loans and liabilities, property papers, your will's location, and key contacts.
Should I write my passwords in the document?
No. Never record passwords, PINs or full card numbers. Use a password manager with emergency access, and rely on institutions' formal claim processes.
How do I find all my mutual funds and shares in one place?
Consolidated account statements from depositories and registrars list holdings across many accounts and fund houses.
How often should I update the record?
At least once a year and after major life events, checking nominations each time.
What is a letter of instruction?
A short plain-language note telling your family what to do first, who to contact, and any practical wishes not covered in the will.
Related Reading
- Why nominations are not the whole answer
- Recovering forgotten shares and dividends
- Provident fund accounts and UAN
- Insurance for your home
- Pairing it with a holdings review
- How demat accounts hold shares
Disclaimer: TheFinBaba provides educational content only - this is not investment advice. Trading involves risk of loss.
