Everything your family will need to know, written down in one place
When someone dies, the hardest part is often not the grief. It's the hunting — for the will, the pension, the account nobody knew about. The Ready File is where you write it all down now, so nobody has to go looking later.
Why bother doing this now
Nobody enjoys thinking about it. Here's what it saves the people who are left.
The paperwork starts immediately
Within days of a death, someone has to find the will, register the death, tell the banks and stop the direct debits. That someone is usually a person who has just lost a parent or a partner.
Most of the delay is hunting, not process
Probate has its own timetable and there is little you can do about it. What you can change is the weeks spent working out which bank, which pension, which policy — and whether there are others nobody has found.
Forgotten accounts are the norm
Old workplace pensions, a savings account from a job two decades ago, a small life policy taken out when the children were born. Families find these by accident, or not at all.
It's a kindness, and it takes an afternoon
You do not have to finish it in one go, and you do not have to know every answer. A half-filled Ready File is still far more use to your family than a locked filing cabinet and a guess.
What's inside
21 sections of plain questions with space to answer. Work through them in any order, and leave the ones that don't apply.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Choose your edition
An instant digital download — a PDF emailed to you, not a physical copy in the post. One payment. No account, no subscription.
Essentials
Everything one person needs to write down.
- Every section of the Ready File document
- 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
- Everything one person needs to record
One PDF, ready to print or fill in on screen.
You'll confirm delivery and pay securely in the next step.
Family
For homeowners or people with children, comes with a will checklist and letter templates for executors.
- Every section of the Ready File document
- 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
- Letter templates in MS Word format, so your executors can write to banks, providers and pension schemes without starting from a blank page
- A separate child record, print a copy for each child in the household so whoever looks after them has what they need
The 9 extra sections cover
Your home and property
How your home is owned, the file of paperwork that goes with it, and anything else you own.
Keeping your will up to date
If it still says what you think it says, how it is signed and stored, what passes outside it entirely, and who inherits if there is no will.
The people who will act on it
Talking to your executors before the day comes, and what you and your partner should agree between you.
Two PDFs (an adult and a child record), and a Word letter pack.
You'll confirm delivery and pay securely in the next step.
Why you can trust it
The Ready File is new, so we won't pretend thousands of families have used it yet. Here's what we can tell you honestly today.
Written for the UK
Built around how things actually work here — HMRC, the DWP, UK banks and pension providers, Tell Us Once. Not an American template with the spelling changed.
Made by people who do this daily
From the team behind EstateCopilot, which executors use to handle probate and inheritance tax. The Ready File exists because we kept seeing what families wished they had been told.
Nothing is stored with us
You fill it in on your own computer or on paper. Your answers never reach us. We hold your email address and your payment record, and that is all.
Yours in about a minute
Pay, and the files land in your inbox. No account to create, no password to remember, nothing to renew.
Questions
Do it once, and it's done
An afternoon now saves your family weeks of hunting later. Start with the sections you already know the answers to.
Get The Ready File from £27