1Identity Documents
The Information Behind the Money
Before the Accounts, the Basics
Brooks Stahlnecker
"On an EMS call, the first thing we needed wasn't fancy — it was the basics. Name, date of birth, medications, who to contact. And you'd be amazed how often nobody on the scene could tell us. Simple information that, in a crisis, suddenly nobody had at their fingertips."
"Your financial life is the same. Before we ever get to accounts and policies, somebody helping you would need the plain facts — your full legal name, where your Social Security card lives, your medical information, your family's details. It's the most basic layer, and it's the one almost nobody has written down."
This module builds your personal information inventory — the foundational facts a spouse, child, or executor would need. We'll note where sensitive documents are kept, never the sensitive numbers themselves.
The simplest information is the first thing missing in a crisis.
What to Capture
Four Layers of Vital Information
Tap each card to see what belongs in your inventory.
Full legal name, date and place of birth, and where to find your Social Security card, birth certificate, passport, and driver's license. Note the location of each — a safe, a drawer, a deposit box — not the numbers.
Spouse, children, dependents, and their key details. Marriage certificate, divorce decrees, prenuptial agreements, adoption papers — and where they're kept. These matter enormously for estate and beneficiary questions later.
Doctors, key medical conditions, medications, allergies, and your health insurance details — plus any advance directives. In a health emergency, this is the information that helps the people stepping in make good decisions fast.
Veterans: your DD-214 and service records unlock real benefits a survivor could miss. Also note citizenship/immigration documents, professional licenses, or any status that affects benefits or paperwork. Easy to overlook, costly to lose.
Your Workbook
Your Personal Inventory
Fill in what you can — note locations, not sensitive numbers. It saves automatically and privately on this device.
Reminder: write "in the fireproof safe" or "top drawer, home office," not the actual Social Security or document numbers. Locations are safe to store; numbers are not.
2Family & Relationships
3Medical Information
4Military & Special Status
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Think Fast
The Drill
One judgment call.
What Would You Do?
You want your spouse to be able to find your important personal documents fast in an emergency. You're tempted to type all your actual Social Security and account numbers into a note on your phone "so it's all in one place." Good idea?
Hands-On Drill
Inventory Checklist
Check off each item once you know where it is. Open boxes are documents to locate.
- Social Security cardYou know exactly where it's stored
- Birth certificateLocated and secured
- Passport & driver's licenseCurrent and findable
- Marriage / family recordsMarriage certificate, any decrees or agreements
- Medical & insurance infoDoctors, key conditions, health coverage
- Military / special-status recordsDD-214 or equivalent, if applicable
Inventory: 0 of 6 complete
Brooks Stahlnecker
"Veterans, hear me on this one: that DD-214 is worth real money in survivor and burial benefits, and families lose track of it constantly. If you served, find it now and tell someone where it is. Don't let earned benefits slip away over a missing piece of paper."
Knowledge Check
Run the Inventory Drill
1. When documenting sensitive items, the Fire Drill way is to record:
Findable and secure: note the location, store originals safely. Raw numbers in a plain file are a security risk.
2. Why does the personal information inventory come before accounts and policies?
A helper needs the plain facts — who you are, your family, your medical and identity details — before any of the financial pieces make sense.
3. For a veteran, an especially important document to locate is the:
The DD-214 unlocks earned benefits a survivor could otherwise miss. Find it and note where it lives.
4. Medical information belongs in your inventory because:
Doctors, conditions, medications, and health coverage help whoever steps in make good, fast decisions during a crisis.
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✍️ Your Drill Notes
Which personal document was hardest to locate — and what's the one piece you need to track down this week?
The Foundation Is Set
Your vital personal information is documented and findable. Next, we make sure your family knows exactly who to call.
The basics, written down, change everything. — Let's Start the Conversation.