The best end of life planners in 2026: books, binders, apps and guides compared

What a planner needs to contain

Use this list to check any product, including the free ones:

1. Personal details and where the Social Security card and citizenship documents are.
2. People to call first: spouse, children, executor, power of attorney agent.
3. Professional contacts: attorney, accountant, financial advisor, insurance agent, doctor.
4. Where the documents are: will, trust, powers of attorney, health care directive, deeds, titles, certificates.
5. Bank and cash accounts.
6. Investment and retirement accounts, with beneficiary designations.
7. Debts: mortgage, loans, credit cards.
8. Income: employment, pensions, Social Security, annuities, rental income.
9. Insurance: life, health, Medicare, long-term care, home, auto, with policy numbers and agents.
10. Property: home, vehicles, storage units, safe deposit boxes, valuables.
11. Recurring payments and subscriptions to cancel or transfer.
12. Digital life: phone unlock method, email, password manager, two-factor devices, social media, photos, crypto.
13. Medical: conditions, medications, pharmacy, allergies, care preferences.
14. Dependents and pets: who takes over, routines, vet, school.
15. Business interests, if any.
16. Wishes: burial or cremation, service preferences, obituary notes, organ donation, letters to family.
17. An executor playbook: what to do in the first days, first month and first year, in order.

Most products cover sections 1 through 16 to some degree. Section 17 is the one to look for; it is the part your family reads under stress.

The four formats and their trade-offs

Paper books ($17 to $27). Cheap, tangible, easy to give, nothing to subscribe to. The limits are space (one bank account line when you have five), handwriting, and updates that mean crossing out.

Binder kits ($55 to $449). Folders or tabbed binders with prompts, sometimes with fillable PDFs so you can print a fresh page. They hold original documents next to the notes. Bulkier and costlier, with the same fill-in effort.

Apps and online vaults ($20 to $480 a year). Easy to edit and share. You pay every year, your information sits on the company's servers, and access depends on the company staying in business and your family knowing the login.

Generated guides (new). You answer guided questions online and the service produces a finished printed and digital guide, which you regenerate after edits. This is the format Omliva is building, in preview as of September 2026, and it is new and unproven.

Mini reviews

I'm Dead, Now What? and Peace of Mind Planner (Peter Pauper Press)

• Price and date: $16.99 (Sassy Extras) and $17.95 (Franklin Planner), September 17, 2026.
• Format: 96-page hardcover, wire-o binding, tabbed sections. Published 2015 and 2014, identical interiors.
• Reviews: 15,059 and 9,717 Amazon ratings, both 4.6 stars (September 17, 2026).
• Strengths: The lowest price on this list and the largest review base by far.
• Limits: Space. "It's poorly laid out with nowhere near enough space for the required information to be entered." (saraclara, mumsnet.com, July 23, 2026). No executor timeline, no digital copy.
• Best for: A first pass, a conversation starter, or a simple estate.

Lamorial End of Life Planner

• Price and date: US edition listed at $55.00 with a $45.00 comparison price on the same page, sold out on September 17, 2026; fillable digital edition $14.99.
• Format: 83-page A4 printed journal, nine sections including phone access codes, subscriptions and yearly update pages.
• Reviews: 4.7 stars from 1,212 reviews on lamorial.com (September 17, 2026).
• Strengths: The most current content among the books, yearly update pages, a digital edition, 30-day free returns.
• Limits: A bound book still fills up; passwords go on paper; the print edition was out of stock when checked.
• Best for: Someone who will use the yearly update pages.

Clever Fox End of Life Planner

• Price and date: $19.99 A5, $25.99 large (cleverfoxplanner.com, September 17, 2026).
• Format: Vegan leather hardcover, 16 sections; a "When I Die" folder version with pockets from $23.99.
• Reviews: 1,949 Amazon ratings at 4.6 stars for the large size (September 17, 2026).
• Strengths: Good build, two sizes, 60-day money-back guarantee.
• Limits: Fixed pages, handwriting only, no executor guidance.
• Best for: A sturdier, larger version of the Peter Pauper approach.

Get It Together (Nolo)

• Price and date: $25.18 for the 11th edition at Target (list $26.99), with a 12th edition listed for September 29, 2026.
• Format: 440-page workbook by Melanie Cullen and Shae Irving; fill-in pages, guidance chapters and downloadable forms.
• Reviews: 4.5 stars from 1,904 Amazon ratings on the 10th edition listing (September 17, 2026).
• Strengths: The most thorough content on this list, from a legal publisher.
• Limits: The length; the workbook pages live inside a 440-page paperback.
• Best for: A complex estate, or the adult child who wants the whole picture.

Nokbox

• Price and date: Lite $69, Base Kit $139, Original $129 (regular $159), Fireproof $139 (regular $179), thenokbox.com, September 17, 2026.
• Format: 67 labeled hanging folders, 72 double-sided checksheets, 15 categories, key bag, document pouch, with or without a box.
• Reviews: 11,584 reviews at 4.6 stars on Nokbox's own reviews page; BBB profile D rating with 8 reviews averaging 1.63 stars (both September 17, 2026).
• Strengths: The most complete physical system, with next-of-kin instructions on the back of every checksheet.
• Limits: Handwritten paper; reviewers ask for a digital copy ("it would help to have a digital 'NOKBOX' folder on my computer", John C., thenokbox.com, October 23, 2023); hours of setup; a seven-day return window.
• Best for: A physical, guided project with a place to file originals. See our Nokbox alternatives page for more.

CLEAR Kit (Buried in Work)

• Price and date: Essentials $199 (one adult) or $339 (two); Expanded $299 or $449; Build Your Own from $140 (shop.buriedinwork.com, September 17, 2026; variants showed as sold out or unavailable that day).
• Format: Personalized zip binder in a fire and water resistant case, printed worksheets plus fillable PDFs, 22 or 47 sections.
• Reviews: 4.8 stars from 7 reviews on its own site (September 17, 2026).
• Strengths: The only binder kit with a stated update workflow: "Edit the digital worksheet, print the updated page, and replace only what changed." 30-day returns.
• Limits: The highest price here, a tiny review base, a heavy kit.
• Best for: Premium paper with a digital backup.

Smart Money Mamas Family Emergency Binder

• Price and date: $39.00 for the fillable PDF; the flash drive box was listed at $39.00 but sold out (emergencybinders.com, September 17, 2026).
• Format: Fillable PDF in three modules, with a setup guide.
• Reviews: No review widget on the product page; the maker claims "over 15,000 copies sold." Its Etsy shop showed 4.8 stars from 91 reviews on September 17, 2026.
• Strengths: Digital first at a paper price; print what you need.
• Limits: PDF form fields only, a parents-of-young-children framing, no executor timeline.
• Best for: Families in their 30s and 40s who want a printable digital binder.

Everplans

• Price and date: Free for up to 3 items; Premium $99.99 a year (everplans.com/pricing, September 17, 2026).
• Format: Online vault with guided prompts, content library, secure sharing, iOS app.
• Reviews: App Store 4.4 from 28 ratings in our September 17, 2026 research.
• Strengths: The deepest guided content among the apps, plus sharing with named people.
• Limits: The yearly fee, a three-item free tier, iOS only on mobile, information on the company's servers. Everplans says it was acquired by Precoa, a preneed funeral company, in October 2024.
• Best for: Someone who prefers a login to a binder.

Trustworthy

• Price and date: Free (2GB); Silver $10, Gold $20, Platinum $40 a month, all paid annually (trustworthy.com/pricing, September 17, 2026).
• Format: Web, iOS and Android; AI document extraction; data download on all plans.
• Reviews: App Store 4.3 from 120 ratings in our September 17, 2026 research.
• Strengths: The most polished app, two mobile platforms, export.
• Limits: Built as household administration, not as an end of life planner; $120 to $480 a year.
• Best for: A household that wants one place for all documents and will keep paying.

The Big Book of Everything (free)

• Price and date: Free (erikdewey.com, September 17, 2026).
• Format: 52-page PDF to print and fill by hand, or an Excel workbook.
• Reviews: None; widely recommended on personal finance forums.
• Strengths: Free and thorough on assets, debts and insurance. The author suggests you "tackle a page a day."
• Limits: A spreadsheet, with no guidance and no executor playbook.
• Best for: Anyone comfortable in Excel who wants to start today at no cost.

Omliva (in preview)

• Price and date: Not yet public; in preview as of September 17, 2026.
• Format: Guided questions online in short sessions; Omliva generates a large-type printed and digital family guide (accounts, documents and locations, contacts, insurance, property, digital life, medical, wishes, executor playbook) that you regenerate after updating your answers.
• Reviews: None yet.
• Strengths: The guide is written for you rather than filled in by you; the executor playbook is built in; updates mean regenerating rather than crossing out.
• Limits: New and unproven, no public price, no review history. Not legal advice.
• Best for: People who bought a book or kit before and never finished it, and adult children helping a parent.

Comparison table

How to keep any planner updated

A Bogleheads thread from April 2026 asked members whether their "if I die" documents actually stay current. The practical answers apply to any product:

• Put a date on it. Write the date on the first page every time you review it, so your family knows how old the information is.
• Review twice a year. One member updates "about every six months" and keeps printed copies in several places (Stinky, bogleheads.org, April 18, 2026).
• Change one page, not the binder. "I just print out the new page, replace the old page in the binder and continue on. It isn't the whole binder that needs changing just the one page" (CaptainT, same thread, April 18, 2026). This needs a digital master.
• Keep passwords out of the planner. Record where the password manager is and how emergency access works, not the passwords themselves.
• Tell one person where it is. Name the person, show them the location, and repeat it when anything moves.