Aging parent checklist: the records to gather before you need them
Most families start gathering a parent's paperwork in a hospital corridor. Doing it on a quiet afternoon instead takes an hour or two and means the next emergency, form or new doctor is a matter of opening a folder.
Identity and insurance
- Photo ID, and where the original is kept.
- Insurance and Medicare cards, front and back.
- Any supplemental or drug plan card, with its renewal date.
Legal
- Power of attorney for finances, and who holds it.
- Healthcare directive or medical power of attorney, and who holds it.
- The lawyer's name, if there is one, and where originals are kept.
Health
- Conditions and allergies, in the words their doctors used.
- The current medication list, copied from the labels.
- Every doctor's name, specialty and number; the pharmacy; the preferred hospital.
Everyday
- Who has a key, and who checks in on which days.
- Utility, phone and insurance accounts, by name only; passwords belong in a password manager with emergency access, not in a binder.
- The next appointment and what it is for.
People
- Which sibling or helper is looking after which area, and who is the back-up.
- Neighbours and friends who would notice if something was wrong.
How Alderbook does it
Alderbook is the caregiving binder on your phone: documents with expiry dates, medications, appointments with questions before and notes after, contacts by role, and the sibling task list. Its one-page care summary can be shared as a PDF the day you need it.
It stores no passwords or account logins, and gives no medical or legal advice.
Price: Free for one person and 10 documents. $49.99 once for everything else. No subscription.
Alderbook stores what you enter and gives it back in a useful shape. It gives no medical or legal advice, calculates nothing about medication, and does not store passwords or account logins.