5 Documents Every Parent Should Have (Most Don’t)
You’ve got life insurance. You’ve started saving for your kids’ education. You pay your EMIs on time. You think you’ve done your part.
But here’s a question: if something happened to you tonight, would your family be able to find everything they need?
Most parents, even financially responsible ones, are missing at least one critical document. And that gap can turn a tragedy into a prolonged nightmare for the people they’re trying to protect.
Here are the five documents every parent should have, and why most don’t.
1. A Will
What it is: A legal document that states who gets what after you die.
Why most parents don’t have one: “I’m too young.” “I don’t have enough assets.” “My spouse will get everything anyway.” “It’s morbid to think about.”
Why you need it:
Without a will, your assets are distributed according to succession laws based on your religion. These laws are complicated, vary by community, and don’t always match what you’d want.
For example, under the Hindu Succession Act, if you die without a will, your property is divided equally among your mother, spouse, and children (Class I heirs). That’s fine if that’s what you wanted. But what if you wanted your spouse to have the house outright? What if you wanted to provide more for a child with special needs? What if you wanted to leave something to your siblings or parents?
Without a will, you don’t get to decide. The law decides for you.
And here’s another thing parents don’t consider: guardianship. If both parents die, who raises the children? Without a will naming a guardian, the courts decide. That process takes time, and the outcome isn’t guaranteed to be what you’d want.
What you need to do:
Write a will. It doesn’t have to be complicated. A simple will covering your major assets and naming a guardian for your children is enough for most families. You can write it yourself (it’s legal), though getting a lawyer to review it adds certainty.
The recent probate reforms have made acting on wills easier in Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata. But the reforms only help if a will exists.
2. Updated Nomination Forms
What it is: The person named on your bank accounts, insurance policies, and investments to receive them upon your death.
Why most parents don’t have updated ones: “I added a nominee when I opened the account years ago.” “I think my spouse is the nominee on everything.” “I’m not sure who I named.”
Why you need it:
A nominee isn’t the owner of your assets. They’re a custodian who holds them for your legal heirs. But having a nominee makes the immediate process much faster. Without one, your family needs legal certificates just to access your accounts.
The problem is that nominations go stale. You named your father as nominee on that old FD, but he passed away three years ago. You named your spouse on your PPF, but that was before the kids were born. You have accounts you opened as a bachelor with nominees who are no longer in your life.
Old nominations create confusion. In some cases, they create legal disputes.
What you need to do:
Go through every account and policy you have:
- Bank accounts (savings, FDs, RDs)
- Insurance policies (life, health, vehicle)
- Investments (mutual funds, shares, demat account)
- Retirement accounts (PPF, NPS, EPF)
Check who the nominee is. Update if needed. Adding the right nominees takes an hour but saves your family months.
Recent changes help: SEBI now allows up to 10 nominees on mutual funds and demat accounts. Banks can have up to 4 nominees. Use these options to cover all your intended beneficiaries.
3. A List of What You Have (And Where)
What it is: A simple document listing all your financial accounts, policies, and assets, along with where to find the paperwork.
Why most parents don’t have one: “My spouse knows about our finances.” “Everything’s in my head.” “I’ll organize it someday.” “It’s too much work.”
Why you need it:
When someone dies, the first question the family faces is: “What did they have?”
Your spouse knows about the joint account and the home loan. But do they know about the FD you opened with your bonus? The mutual fund SIP from your previous job? The insurance policy your company provides? The PPF you started fifteen years ago?
Families regularly discover accounts months or years after a death. Sometimes they discover them through random mail. Sometimes they never discover them at all. The government’s unclaimed deposits portal exists because billions of rupees sit in accounts that families don’t know about.
Your financial life is probably scattered across multiple banks, insurers, and platforms. No one can piece it together from memory, and your family won’t know where to start looking.
What you need to do:
Create a simple list. It doesn’t need to be fancy. A spreadsheet or even a handwritten document works. Include:
- Bank accounts: Bank name, branch, account type
- Fixed deposits: Bank, amount (roughly), maturity date
- Insurance policies: Company, policy number, sum assured
- Investments: Platform, type (MF, shares, etc.)
- Loans: Lender, outstanding amount (roughly)
- Property: Description, where documents are stored
- Digital accounts: Important ones (email, investment apps)
Note where physical documents are kept. “Insurance policies are in the blue folder in the steel almirah.” “Property papers are in the bank locker at SBI Koramangala.”
Then tell your spouse or a trusted family member where this list is.
Tools like Anshin are designed for exactly this. You can store all your financial details in one secure place and choose who gets access when needed. But even a simple document is better than nothing.
4. Insurance Policy Documents (Accessible)
What it is: The actual policy documents for your life and health insurance.
Why most parents don’t have them accessible: “It’s all digital now.” “I have the policy number saved somewhere.” “The insurance company has records.”
Why you need it:
When you die, your family needs to file a claim. To file a claim, they need the policy document, or at minimum the policy number and company details.
“It’s digital” isn’t helpful if your family can’t access your email. “The company has records” doesn’t help when your family doesn’t know which company.
And for health insurance, the need is immediate. If you’re hospitalized, your family needs to know your policy details to get cashless treatment or file claims. They can’t wait to search through paperwork while you’re in the ICU.
What you need to do:
For each insurance policy (life, health, vehicle):
- Keep a physical copy in an accessible location (not just a bank locker)
- Note the policy number, company, sum assured, and premium due date
- Add it to your master list (Document #3)
- Tell your family where to find it
For health insurance specifically, keep a copy in your wallet or phone. Many insurers have apps that store your policy card digitally.
5. Emergency Contact and Access Information
What it is: A document with critical contacts and access information your family would need in an emergency.
Why most parents don’t have one: “My family knows my contacts.” “I don’t want to write down passwords.” “It feels paranoid.”
Why you need it:
In an emergency, your family needs to act fast. They need to know:
- Your key contacts: Your employer’s HR, your CA, your lawyer, your financial advisor, your doctor
- Account access: How to get into your phone (they’ll need it for OTPs), your primary email (where all statements come), your laptop
- Critical PINs: ATM PIN for immediate cash needs
This isn’t about giving your family access to monitor your accounts. It’s about ensuring they’re not locked out when they need to act.
Consider this scenario: you’re in a serious accident. You’re unconscious. Your spouse needs to handle the bills, contact your office, access your insurance details, and manage the household. Can they do all that without access to your phone or email?
What you need to do:
Write down (securely):
- Names and numbers: employer HR, CA, lawyer, financial advisor, doctors
- How to unlock your phone
- Your primary email password (or recovery method)
- ATM PIN for your primary account
- Location of important keys (bank locker, safe)
Store this separately from the other documents, in a sealed envelope. Tell your spouse where it is and that it’s only for emergencies.
If writing passwords feels risky, consider a password manager that allows emergency access, or simply write hints that only your spouse would understand.
The Pattern You’ll Notice
Look at this list again:
- A will
- Updated nominations
- A list of assets
- Accessible insurance documents
- Emergency contacts and access
None of these are complicated. None require lawyers or hours of work. A determined parent could complete all five in a single weekend.
Yet most parents have at most one or two of these in place.
The reason is simple: these documents force you to think about unpleasant scenarios. Your own death. Your incapacity. Your family struggling without you.
So you postpone. “I’ll do it next month.” “When things settle down.” “After the kids’ exams.”
And then life continues, busy as always, until something happens.
What You Can Do This Weekend
Pick one document from this list. Just one. The one you’re most missing.
If you don’t have a will: Write a simple one this weekend. You can always refine it later. Something is infinitely better than nothing.
If your nominations are outdated: Log into your accounts next Saturday morning. Update them. It takes an hour.
If you don’t have a master list: Start one tonight. Even a partial list helps.
If your insurance documents are buried: Find them. Make copies. Put them somewhere your spouse can access.
If your family can’t reach you in emergencies: Write down the essentials. Seal it in an envelope. Tell your spouse where it is.
One document. One weekend. That’s all it takes to be more prepared than most parents.
Your spouse will know everything—even the accounts you forgot to mention. Anshin keeps your financial details organized and shared with the people who matter.