If you’re referring to things you should preserve after someone dies, four categories are especially important because they can have legal, financial, sentimental, or historical value. The exact rules vary by country and state, so treat this as a practical checklist rather than legal advice.
1. Original legal and identity documents
Don’t casually discard the deceased person’s:
- Will, trust documents, codicils, and estate-planning paperwork
- Birth, marriage, divorce, and adoption records
- Passport, Social Security/national ID documents, driver’s license
- Military discharge papers and service records
- Deeds, property titles, vehicle titles, and other ownership documents
- Death certificates and funeral/burial records
- Court documents or correspondence concerning an estate
Why they matter: Some documents may be needed to establish identity, ownership, inheritance rights, benefits, or the validity of an estate. Even seemingly obsolete documents can help an executor, attorney, government agency, or family member establish a chain of ownership or relationship.
Practical approach: Make a secure folder for originals and create digital copies. Don’t shred anything that might relate to an unresolved estate until the executor or an estate attorney confirms it’s safe to dispose of it.
2. Financial records and account information
This category is easy to underestimate. Preserve:
- Bank and investment account statements
- Pension and retirement-account information
- Life-insurance policies
- Tax returns and supporting tax documents
- Property and mortgage records
- Loan and credit-account information
- Business ownership records
- Stock certificates or other securities
- Cryptocurrency information and records of digital assets
- Safe-deposit-box information
- Records showing debts owed to or by the deceased
Why they matter: An estate may have assets that aren’t immediately obvious, as well as outstanding debts and tax obligations. Financial records can help establish what the person owned, what they owed, and what beneficiaries may be entitled to receive.
One important distinction: don’t simply keep using or accessing accounts because you have the deceased person’s password. Financial institutions generally have procedures for handling accounts after death, and unauthorized access can create legal and financial problems.
3. Personal letters, photographs, journals, and family history
These may have little monetary value but enormous historical value.
Consider preserving:
- Handwritten letters and cards
- Diaries and journals
- Family photographs and negatives
- Home videos and recordings
- Voice messages or audio recordings
- Family trees and genealogy notes
- Recipes and handwritten cookbooks
- Military photographs and memorabilia
- School yearbooks
- Artwork and handwritten documents
- Personal correspondence that explains family relationships or important events
Why they matter: Once an original photograph, letter, or recording is destroyed, it may be impossible to recover. A seemingly ordinary notebook can contain names, dates, stories, recipes, or information that becomes priceless to later generations.
For photographs and videos, digitize them while the originals are still readable. Store important digital files in at least two separate locations.
4. Digital devices and digital information
Don’t rush to erase or throw away:
- Phones and tablets
- Computers and external drives
- USB drives and memory cards
- Cloud-storage information
- Email accounts
- Digital photographs
- Digital financial records
- Online businesses or websites
- Cryptocurrency wallets and recovery information
- Password managers or instructions for accessing digital assets
- Social-media accounts and online archives
Why they matter: A phone may contain photographs, contacts, messages, documents, recordings, or information about assets that aren’t found anywhere else.
However, this is also the category where privacy and security matter most. Don’t go through someone’s private accounts merely out of curiosity, and don’t publish or distribute their private communications. The executor or appropriate family representative should determine what needs to be preserved and what can eventually be closed.
A good rule: don’t make irreversible decisions immediately
After a death, people are often overwhelmed and may want to clean out the home quickly. That’s understandable—but throwing something away is usually irreversible.
For the first few months, consider having four temporary areas:
KEEP — LEGAL/FINANCIAL — DIGITAL — SENTIMENTAL
Put uncertain items in a separate “DECIDE LATER” box rather than throwing them out.
Also photograph the contents of rooms, drawers, safes, filing cabinets, and storage areas before cleaning them out. This can provide a record of what existed and where important items were found.
One especially important warning
If there is a will, trust, safe-deposit box, property deed, insurance policy, financial statement, or document that appears to transfer property, don’t destroy it simply because you think it’s outdated. Give it to the person handling the estate or an appropriate attorney for review.
And if you’re in the U.S., keep in mind that estate, tax, probate, and record-retention requirements differ by state and by situation.
If you tell me what country/state you’re in, I can give you a much more detailed checklist of the documents to preserve, how long to keep each one, and what can safely be discarded after a loved one’s death.