What Should I Leave for My Family So They Can Find Everything?

Leave one written record that says where everything is kept: the will and who holds it, every bank account and super fund, the insurance policies, the bills that keep arriving, and the people to ring first. You are not leaving your family your passwords, you are leaving them a map, so the person sorting out your affairs can find in an afternoon what would otherwise take months of opening envelopes addressed to someone who has died.

What follows is what institutions actually ask for, who has to be told, and what belongs on the list. Most of it you already know. The gap is that it lives in your head.

What will your family actually be asked for?

Start from the other end, with the paperwork an institution will want before it releases anything. Moneysmart, ASIC's consumer site, sets out what a super fund may ask for when someone claims a death benefit: the death certificate or other proof of death the fund accepts, your own proof of identity, evidence of your relationship to the person such as a marriage certificate, and documents showing who can act for the estate, for example probate or letters of administration. (Source: moneysmart.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026)

Moneysmart adds one line that saves a great deal of posting and re-posting: ask the fund whether it needs originals or certified copies before you send documents. (Source: moneysmart.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026)

Probate is the court document behind that phrase "who can act for the estate". Moneysmart's own glossary describes it as a document issued by a court certifying the validity of a will and authorising the executor to administer the estate in accordance with the provisions of the will. (Source: moneysmart.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026) Whether an estate needs it depends on the state and on the institution holding the asset, so it is a question for the bank or the fund rather than something to assume.

The death certificate itself comes from the births, deaths and marriages registry in the state or territory where the death happened, and each one runs separately. In New South Wales the registry says a funeral director will normally register a death and apply for a death certificate on your behalf. (Source: nsw.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026) Victoria's registry says much the same, that usually the funeral director registers a death as part of their services. (Source: bdm.vic.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026) Fees and processing times differ across the country.

Who has to be told when someone dies?

More organisations than most people expect, and the government now publishes the list. The myGov checklist for the death of someone close to you names the Australian Taxation Office, Services Australia, the Australian Electoral Commission, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the National Disability Insurance Scheme and My Aged Care as bodies to tell. (Source: my.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026)

One item on that page removes a job rather than adding one. You do not need to close the person's myGov account, because it closes automatically after not being used. (Source: my.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026)

Services Australia attaches a timeframe. Its guidance on who to tell when someone dies says you need to tell them within 28 days. (Source: servicesaustralia.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026) That is the kind of deadline that is easy to meet when the information is written down and easy to miss when the family is still working out which payments existed.

Tax does not stop either. The ATO says a final tax return may be needed for the income year in which the person died, and that usually the authorised legal personal representative lodges that date of death return. (Source: ato.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026)

So what belongs on the list?

None of this is advice about your circumstances. It is the set of things a family reliably has to hunt for.

1. The will, and who holds the original. The document itself, or the name of the solicitor, public trustee or registry holding it.
2. Your executor, and how to reach them. Named, with a current phone number.
3. Every bank account. Including the old one with a small balance that nobody would think to look for.
4. Every super fund. Including funds from jobs you left years ago, and what nomination each one has recorded.
5. Insurance policies. Life, funeral, income protection, and any cover held inside a super account.
6. Property and vehicle papers. Titles, registration, and where the deeds live.
7. Debts. Mortgages, loans, credit cards, and anything you have guaranteed for someone else.
8. The recurring bills. Utilities, rates, insurance renewals, subscriptions, anything on direct debit.
9. Your accountant, solicitor, financial adviser and doctor. Names and numbers, so nobody has to guess.
10. Your funeral wishes. Written down, and said out loud to the people who will be making the decisions.
11. A note on the digital side. Which email address is the main one, which phone, where the photos are kept.

What about passwords and the online accounts?

Record what exists rather than a sheet of passwords. What an executor needs first is the map, which accounts there are and where to look, and that is a different thing from the credentials.

Two of the platforms most people use have built the handover into the settings, and most have never opened them. Apple describes a Legacy Contact as someone you choose to have access to certain data in your Apple Account after your death, covering photos, messages, notes, files and device backups. (Source: support.apple.com, checked 25 Sep 2026) Worth knowing before you rely on it: Apple excludes data stored in your iCloud Keychain, which is where payment information, passwords and passkeys sit, and the Legacy Contact needs both the access key and your death certificate. (Source: support.apple.com, checked 25 Sep 2026)

Google's Inactive Account Manager is described as a way for users to share parts of their account data, or notify someone, if they have been inactive for a certain period of time. (Source: support.google.com, checked 25 Sep 2026) Both take a few minutes and both are set up by you, in advance, which is the only time either can be done.

There is more detail in what happens to your online accounts when you die.

What about the money nobody knows about?

Some of what families lose was never hidden, just forgotten. Moneysmart runs a free unclaimed money search and says there is around $2.7 billion in lost shares, bank accounts and life insurance. (Source: moneysmart.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026) Lost super is separate again, and the ATO's instruction is to use ATO online services through myGov to check your super account. (Source: ato.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026)

States run their own registers on top of that. Revenue NSW describes unclaimed money as money that you are legally entitled to that you did not receive, and notes that you will need proof of identity or entitlement as an executor or administrator to start a claim. (Source: revenue.nsw.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026) Other states and territories run equivalent schemes with their own rules.

Writing down which institutions you deal with while you are here is a good deal faster than your family searching registers later.

What about your funeral wishes?

Write them down, and say them out loud as well, because the written version carries less weight than people assume. The Public Trustee in Tasmania states it directly: funeral wishes under a will are not legally binding on your family or your executor. (Source: publictrustee.tas.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026)

There is a practical reason to keep them out of the will as the only copy, too. The same page suggests telling your loved ones your wishes in case the will is not reviewed until after the funeral. (Source: publictrustee.tas.gov.au, checked 26 Sep 2026) A separate note your family can find on the first day does the job the will cannot. Funeral wishes covers how to open that conversation.

Where should the record live?

Somewhere your family will look, and somewhere you are comfortable keeping personal details. Moneysmart's guidance about the will applies just as well to the record around it: store it in a safe place and tell someone you trust where to find it. (Source: moneysmart.gov.au, checked 25 Sep 2026)

A record like this holds account numbers, policy numbers and the shape of your finances, so where it lives is worth a moment's thought. Plenty of people would rather it sat in a drawer at home than on a website belonging to a company they have never met. Where to keep your will goes through the storage options in more detail.

Where does this leave your family?

A solicitor handles the legal corner well, and the will is genuinely worth paying for. The will is also one document, and everything in the list above sits outside it. Finding where the accounts are, which funds exist, what insurance is attached and who to ring is a kitchen table job you can do yourself for a fraction of what guided help costs.

If you have been named as someone's executor, the free Executor Toolkit walks through the first twelve months. If it is your own affairs you are putting in order, The Estate Organiser is one place to record all of it in the same order a family needs it. It is a book you fill in on your own computer or by hand, so what you write stays in your house rather than on somebody's server.

Common questions about what to leave your family

What should I leave for my family so they can find everything when I die?

A single written record of where things are kept. That means the will and who holds the original, your executor's contact details, every bank account and super fund, insurance policies including any cover inside super, property and vehicle papers, debts, recurring bills, your professional contacts, and your funeral wishes. Record which accounts exist rather than a sheet of passwords.

What documents will my family need to claim my super or close my accounts?

Moneysmart says a super fund may ask for the death certificate or other proof of death the fund accepts, the claimant's own proof of identity, evidence of their relationship to the person such as a marriage certificate, and documents showing who can act for the estate, for example probate or letters of administration. Moneysmart also advises asking the fund whether it needs originals or certified copies before sending documents.

Who needs to be told when someone dies in Australia?

The myGov checklist names the Australian Taxation Office, Services Australia, the Australian Electoral Commission, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the National Disability Insurance Scheme and My Aged Care. Services Australia says you need to tell them within 28 days. The person's myGov account does not need closing, because it closes automatically after not being used.

Should I write my passwords down for my family?

The more useful thing to leave is a list of which accounts exist and where to look, kept separately from the credentials themselves. Apple's Legacy Contact lets someone you choose access certain data in your Apple Account after your death, though it excludes iCloud Keychain, where passwords and payment information are stored, and the contact needs both an access key and your death certificate. Google's Inactive Account Manager can share parts of your account data after a set period of inactivity.

How would my family find money I had forgotten about?

Moneysmart runs a free unclaimed money search covering lost shares, bank accounts and life insurance, and says around $2.7 billion sits unclaimed. Lost super is searched separately through ATO online services via myGov. States and territories also run their own unclaimed money registers, and Revenue NSW notes that an executor or administrator needs proof of identity or entitlement to start a claim.

Related guides

Keep reading: does a will cover everything?, what is probate?, what happens to your super?, and the first weeks as an executor.

Educational content only. Not legal, financial or tax advice. Estate laws vary across Australian states and territories. Always consult a qualified professional about your specific situation.

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