Free printable "start here" sheet for your partner
Never type a password, PIN, recovery code or seed phrase into this page. Write where it is, not what it is.
Start here: if I am not available
If you are reading this because I am not available, take a breath. Nothing here is urgent in the first hours except the first four items.
Do these first
- Find my phone and laptop and keep them safe and charged. Do not wipe, reset or sell them.
- Find where the key to the password manager is kept (written below) and who can help you open it.
- Call the helper below.
- Look at the list of subscriptions and renewals before you cancel anything. Before you cancel the phone line, find which logins send their codes to my phone number.
Please do not, until you have spoken to the helper
- Cancel the mobile line or the home internet.
- Delete any account.
- Ask anyone to reset a password by sending a code to my phone or email.
- Switch off the box, server or small computer in the house.
My tech helper:
Backup helper:
Where my notes live, and the second copy:
Where the password manager key is kept:
Date last checked:
Why these four items come first
The first-hours list is short on purpose. People taking over are tired and may be locked out of most things, so the page says what to protect (the devices), where the way in is (the password manager key), who can help, and what not to break. The two cancellations that cause the most trouble are the mobile line, because many accounts send login codes to that number, and the home internet or the small box in the cupboard, because family photos, home automation or backups may depend on them.
What this page does not cover
It is the first page only. A partner who has to actually take over also needs an access map, a list of renewals (domains matter most), a backup restore routine and a decision for each self-hosted service: keep it running, export the data then shut it down, or ask for help first. Check the free handover gap checker to see which of those you are missing. The Handover Binder ($9) has the other nine sheets, with vendor steps for recovery codes and data exports checked on 10 October 2026. Read what your family needs to take over your tech for the reasoning.
This is a planning aid, not legal advice and not a will. A will, power of attorney and each provider's own rules decide who can legally access an account.