The Ready File
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    The Ready File · For UK households

    Everything your family will need to know, in one place

    Write down your accounts, pensions, where to find your will and funeral wishes once, at your own pace. A step-by-step guide shows your family what to do after you die.

    An older couple going through paperwork together at their kitchen table
    Get The Ready File — from £27See what's inside

    One payment · 14-day money-back guarantee · Digital download

    "This is just what I need… Completing it also prompted me to close four redundant savings accounts…"
    Brian H, Hereford · Verified buyer, Complete edition · Read reviews

    From the team behind EstateCopilot

    Spare your family weeks of searching

    Nobody enjoys thinking about it. But putting things in order while you can is one of the kindest things you can do for the people you love.

    Your family may need it sooner than a will

    If illness or dementia ever means you can't decide for yourself, your family will be choosing where you live and how you're cared for. It helps them to know what you'd want, in your own words.

    Most of the delay is hunting, not process

    After a death, someone has to find the will and work out which bank, which pension and which policy, usually while grieving. Probate has its own timetable; the weeks of searching are what you can spare them.

    Forgotten accounts are the norm

    An old workplace pension, a savings account from a job two decades ago, a small life policy. Families find these by accident, or not at all.

    It's a kindness, done at your pace

    You don't have to finish it in one go or know every answer. A half-filled Ready File is still far more use to your family than a locked filing cabinet and a guess.

    Stephen Hughes, founder of EstateCopilot

    Stephen Hughes

    Founder, EstateCopilot

    Why I made The Ready File

    I made the file I wish we'd had

    When my wife died, I needed to sort out the paperwork and had no idea where to begin.

    Settling her estate took months. Very little of that was legal work. It was searching for and gathering documents, writing to banks and working out what we had, one letter at a time.

    For people using EstateCopilot, I kept seeing the same thing: the families who cope best are the ones who were told where to look.

    The Ready File is how you tell them. Write it down once, at your own pace, and the people you love won't have to piece it together while they're grieving.

    Read my full story

    The Ready File: where you write it down

    Part One is plain questions with space to answer, in any order. Part Two is a guide with checklists for your executors.

    Download a page (PDF)

    Part One: for you, to fill in

    Where everything is, who to contact and what you want. You do this once, at your own pace, and update it whenever things change.

    1. You, and the people around you

      Who you are on paper, who matters to you, and who depends on you.

      • About me
      • My people
      • People and pets who rely on me
      • Medical records

    2. What you have

      The accounts and policies a family would otherwise have to find one letter at a time.

      • Bank and building society accounts
      • Savings and investments
      • Pensions
      • Life insurance and other cover

    3. What goes out, and what you owe

      The payments that keep running after a death, and the debts that have to be settled.

      • What I owe, and what I’m owed
      • Income, tax and business
      • Gifts I’ve made
      • Bills and subscriptions

    4. Property and belongings

      Your home, the things in it, and the accounts nobody can log into without you.

      • My home
      • Vehicles, valuables and belongings
      • My digital life

    5. Paperwork and advisers

      Where the important documents live and who already knows your affairs.

      • My will and legal papers
      • My advisers and contacts
      • Where everything is kept

    6. Your wishes, and who to tell

      The things only you can answer, written down so nobody has to guess on the worst week of their life.

      • My funeral wishes
      • Who to tell
      • A note for my family
    A real page from Part One: bank and building society accounts (preview watermark).

    The Ready File is not a will

    It records where things are and who to contact. It does not decide who inherits what, and it has no legal force. If you don't have a will, please make one — and then use The Ready File to tell your family where it is.

    A step-by-step guide for your executors

    Knowing what you own is only half the problem. The Ready File also tells your executors what to do with it — the first steps in order, then checklists for the weeks and months that follow.

    Part Two: for your family, when the time comes

    Plain-English steps and tick-off checklists for your executors, pointing back to the answers you have written in Part One.

    1. Straight away

      Start here: the first steps, in order

      A calm, one-page list of what to do first — get the death confirmed, find the will and funeral wishes, register the death — and what not to rush. It has a quick-reference box that points to the executor, the will and the funeral plan you have already recorded.

    2. The first week

      Secure and register

      A tick-list with a date-done space beside every job: death registered, certified copies ordered, home secured, car insurance checked, employer told. Notes for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland where the rules differ.

    3. The first month

      Tell people and gather information

      Who to notify, and the information to pull together, using the accounts, pensions and policies you have written down in Part One.

    4. Months 2 to 12

      Value, apply and settle

      The longer job of valuing the estate, applying for probate or confirmation, and settling it — with a guide to when it is worth calling a solicitor.

    A real page from Part Two: the first-week checklist (preview watermark).
    Get The Ready File — from £27

    One payment · 14-day money-back guarantee

    Planning further ahead? The Complete edition goes further

    Some of the hardest decisions come before a will is ever read. The Complete edition helps you say what you want for later life, explain your choices, and leave more than a list of accounts.

    If you can’t decide for yourself

    A stroke, a fall or dementia can leave your family making choices for you long before anyone needs a will. Write down where you’d want to live, what matters to you day to day, how you’d want care paid for, and what you’d want when the end is near, so the people deciding are not left guessing what you would have said.

    • If I can’t decide for myself
    • When the end is near
    • A guide for your family on care and attorneys

    The family guide explains how to use a power of attorney, the court route if there isn’t one, care assessments, NHS funding and disability benefits, with notes for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland throughout.

    Your will, explained in your own words

    Check your will still says what you think it says, then explain the thinking behind it. A guided letter of wishes helps you tell your executors why you made the choices you did, which can spare hurt feelings and awkward questions later.

    • Will Safeguard
    • Explaining my will

    Explains, in each nation’s own terms, who can make a claim against a will. A letter of wishes guides your executors but is not legally binding: your will still decides who inherits.

    Your home, your keepsakes and your story

    Say which things matter and who should have them, leave practical notes for the day the house is cleared, and record the stories your family will one day wish they had asked you about.

    • Keepsakes and clearing my home
    • My life story
    • Clearing the home: a guide for your family

    Bonus: our estate administration guide

    The Complete edition comes with our plain-English guide to administering an estate in the UK: whether probate is needed, inheritance tax, valuing what you own, paying debts in the right order and the mistakes executors most often make. Your executors get the whole picture from the start, not just the first few weeks.

    Compare the editions

    The Complete edition is £37. It also includes Word letter templates for your executors, and a child record if a child or grandchild under 18 lives with you.

    What people say

    Don't take our word for it. Read real reviews from real people who've purchased The Ready File

    "This is just what I need. A convenient way to record all the most important details that my executors will require. Completing it also prompted me to close four redundant savings accounts and to think carefully about a couple of others."
    Brian H, Hereford

    Verified Buyer - Complete Edition

    "Great help in getting everything together. There is more required than one realises. I think some of the sections could be combined for ease of completing. But that said, a very good document."
    Andy, Telford

    Verified Buyer - Complete Edition

    "Looks daunting at first but really straightforward to complete. Would and have recommended it to family and friends"
    Gail, Aberdeen

    Verified Buyer - Complete Edition

    • Written for the UK
    • From the team behind EstateCopilot
    • Your answers never reach us
    • Delivered in about a minute

    Choose your edition

    An instant digital download. One payment. No account, no subscription.

    Essentials

    Everything one person should write down. Your finances, funeral wishes, important people and notes for your family.

    £27
    • Sections for you to fill in to record your important information
    • A step-by-step guide and checklists for your executors: the first steps, the first week, the first month and beyond
    • Fill it in on screen or print it and write by hand
    • Yours to keep, and to update whenever things change
    • Delivered to your inbox straight after you pay
    • Over 36 pages of guided questions in plain English
    • Everything one person needs to record

    One digital PDF file, ready to print or fill in on screen.

    14-day money-back guarantee. You'll confirm delivery and pay securely in the next step.

    Recommended

    Complete

    Everything you’ll want written down, in one place: your affairs, your wishes for care and later life, your will explained, and the stories you want to pass on.

    £37

    Only £10 more than Essentials

    Includes everything in Essentials, plus:

    • 13 extra sections (over 55 pages in all)

      Care and later life · Your will, safeguarded · Your home, keepsakes and life story · Talking to people who will act

    • Guides for your family on power of attorney, care and funding, and clearing the home
    • Letter templates in MS Word, so your executors can write to banks, providers and pension schemes
    • Bonus: our estate administration guide
    • A child record, if a child or grandchild under 18 lives with you

    Three digital PDF files (your file, a child record and the estate administration guide), plus a MS Word letter pack.

    14-day money-back guarantee. You'll confirm delivery and pay securely in the next step.

    14-day money-back guarantee, for any reason Secure payment handled by Stripe Digital download, emailed to you within a minute No account needed

    Prefer a printed copy?

    We're working on a small run of printed copies of The Ready File. Leave your name and email and we'll let you know when they're ready.

    Questions before you buy

    Do it once, and it's done

    A few quiet afternoons now save your family weeks of hunting and guessing later. Start with the sections you already know the answers to.

    Get The Ready File — from £27Read the FAQ

    14-day money-back guarantee. If it isn't right for you, you get your money back.

    EstateCopilot

    The Ready File is made by EstateCopilot, a UK estate administration platform.

    The Ready File is a record of where things are kept. It is not a will, it has no legal force of its own, and completing it does not change who inherits anything.

    Neither Mintly Ltd, EstateCopilot, nor The Ready File provides legal, tax or financial advice. Everything we publish is general information to help you get organised. It is not advice about your circumstances and must not be relied on as a substitute for a solicitor, accountant or other qualified professional. If your affairs are complex, or you are unsure, please take professional advice.

    EstateCopilot is a trading name of Mintly Ltd, registered in England & Wales No. 14347501. VAT No. GB434423319. Registered address: 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE.

    The Ready File™ is an unregistered trade mark of Mintly Ltd.

    © 2026 Mintly Ltd. All rights reserved.

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