Ellis Family GuidesPractical, plain-English guides

The Peace of Mind Series

Free Checklists & Organizer Pages

A practical starting point for U.S. families, caregivers and solo adults

Everything on this page is a direct download. No sign-up, no email address, no account and no book purchase required. Already own Get Your Affairs in Order? This is your free Companion Pack, too.

Reading one of our books?

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Rate Book OneGet Your Affairs in Order Rate Book TwoLiving Trusts Made Simple Rate Book ThreeSocial Security & Medicare Rate Book FourWills, Trusts & Estate Planning

New here? Start with one page.

Open the Quick-Start Checklist below and begin with “The first hour.” List your key contacts and where your important documents are kept. Work on your own, or together with a parent or someone you trust. You can use the checklist without the book; chapter numbers simply point book owners to more detail.

You do not need to finish everything today. Keep completed worksheets private and share their location only with someone you choose.

Preparing for a Medicare plan review?

Our separate free preparation checklist helps you gather plan mail, medication information and questions.

Medicare Plan Review Preparation Checklist
A one-page organizing aid, separate from the estate planning Companion Pack and the worksheets in the book.
PDF · 1 page · no sign-up required

Read the preparation guide or explore all practical guides.

The Downloads

The Quick-Start Checklist
A step-by-step checklist, from listing your accounts and document locations to a yearly review. Start with the first-hour section; use the later sections as prompts for questions and follow-up tasks.
PDF · 2 pages · start with the first-hour section
Your State at a Glance — 2026 Edition
All 50 states plus D.C.: small-estate limits, witness rules, handwritten-will rules, and property systems — with the statutory citation for every figure, so your attorney can check the source directly. Refreshed every year.
PDF · 51 jurisdictions · 4 data points each · with citations
The Organizer Worksheets
42 printable pages for organizing accounts, documents, contacts and final wishes — plus Section J for couples. Use the sections that fit your life, whether or not you own the book.
PDF · 43 printable pages · sections A through J

For Couples

A couple's plan is two plans. Each of you fills in your own Organizer, then the two of you sit down once for the shared questions: who handles what, how your accounts are held, and what the one who stays should do first.

The Organizer — Partner's Copy
A second Organizer, sections A through I, with its own cover page for the second person in a couple. Your contacts, your accounts, your wishes, in your own handwriting.
PDF · 37 printable pages · one for each of you
The Couples Pack
The conversation in three sittings, second marriages and blended families, unmarried partners, a yearly couples check-up — and Section J, For Couples, to fill in together.
PDF · 11 pages · married and unmarried couples

Planning a trust together?

Use these pages whether you have a joint trust, separate trusts, or questions to take to your attorney. Record who handles what, whose assets you are tracking, and what the partner who stays should ask first. The worksheets help you organize your plan; they do not create or amend a trust or authorize account access.

Our Shared Trust Plan — Couples Worksheets
Five practical sections: responsibilities, asset ownership, comparing your instructions, a survivor's checklist, and your next steps. Print a fresh copy for each review.
PDF · 6 printable pages · for married and unmarried partners
Trust Funding Tracker & Couples Pack
The complete asset-by-asset Funding Tracker plus the six shared-plan pages. Keep a separate tracker for each separate trust. Original book page numbers are retained for reference; no book purchase is required.
PDF · 25 printable pages · from Living Trusts Made Simple

For more detail, see Living Trusts Made Simple. Supporting references include IRS Publication 559 and the California Courts' planning guide; ask your attorney about requirements in your state.

The Yearly Estate Check-up
The complete two-hour routine — seven tasks with time budgets, plus the seven life events that shouldn't wait for Check-up Day.
PDF · 7 tasks · 2 hours once a year
15 Tools & Sites Worth Knowing
The free, official resources your family may need one day — from the life-insurance policy locator to unclaimed-property searches in every state.
PDF · 15 free & official resources

Want the guide that goes with these pages?

Get Your Affairs in Order paperback cover

Get Your Affairs in Order

A plain-English guide to wills, trusts and digital assets, with a fill-in organizer to bring your important information together. Written for U.S. readers.

The organizer is included in the print editions. Paperback, hardcover and ebook are available on Amazon.com.

View on Amazon.com

About the book & all formats →

The downloads above are free. Buying the book is optional.

Looking for the sources?

Every figure in the books — the funeral cost medians, the survey numbers, the tax limits — is listed with the study or agency it came from, kept current between editions. Sources & further reading →