Going through the life file every year

Once a year you go through the life file. You look at the address, at the accounts you want to name, at the wishes and at the trusted person. The question is whether the lines still match how you live now. Put the date of that round at the top, so next year you can see that the round took place. A file that sits still for three years often contains an old number, an old GP or a wish you no longer have. That sends a reader the wrong way. The round does not have to be long. An hour with the papers beside you is enough if you only change what has really changed. You do not rewrite everything that is still correct.

An outdated file is worse than a short file. A short list from this year names what someone must be able to find. A thick folder from earlier also names what is already gone, and a reader cannot see the difference. So remove what has stopped: an account you have closed, a policy that is no longer in force, a trusted person who no longer wants that role. Leave a field empty if you do not know the answer. An empty line is an open point. A guessed name or a guessed number is a mistake that is later taken as true. When in doubt, rather write that you still have to check it than invent an answer.

In that yearly round you also look at who may read the file. The trusted person sees what you switch on. Check whether that person is still the right one, and whether the number is right. You read through wishes about care and the funeral and you strike out what you no longer want. Passwords do not belong in this note, not even during a clear-out. DigiD and other government accounts are personal. You do not store a login for them. The file records where papers are and who may read them. It appoints no heir and no executor. That appointment, if you want it, belongs in a notarial will. At most note where that will is, if you already know. You leave the text of the deed at the place where it can be found.

A life file is a note for later. It is not a will, not a medical instruction and not advice. The yearly round keeps the note readable. It does not turn an old wish into an instruction to a doctor and it does not turn a name into an executor. A codicil has its own, strictly handwritten form and does not come into being because you update a field. Ervazo stores what you save and does not send it to a notary or a doctor. If you skip a year, you catch up with a short round, not with a new story. The date of the last round is the sign that the text is still yours.