Family Emergency Binder FAQ
Answers about the Access-First Binder, a 17-page family emergency binder for U.S. households.
Before you buy
What is a family emergency binder?
The Access-First Binder is a 17-page family emergency binder for U.S. households. It's built in a different order:
- First, the way in: what gets someone into your phone and your email.
- Then the rest: the accounts, the bills, the people to call.
I'd rather not think about it. Isn't this a heavy conversation?
It's not a heavy conversation. It's one practical question you can answer tonight.
Not who gets what. Not a will. Just this: how would your spouse get into your phone, your email and the accounts behind them?
Once it's answered, it's off your to-do list.
I already keep a list: a notebook, a spreadsheet, a password manager. Isn't that enough?
Your list is the right start. A notebook, a spreadsheet, a password manager: any of them can hold the right answers. Keep yours.
But without your phone and email, it may not get your spouse in. Think about the last time you forgot a password. Where did the reset code go? Your phone? Your email?
If your codes go there, your phone is the first door, and your email the second. With both, your spouse may be able to reset accounts, even the ones missing from your list.
We have a will and a trust. Isn't everything taken care of?
Keep them. They just don't open your phone.
A will or a trust says who gets what. A binder doesn't replace them, and it isn't legal advice. It covers what they don't: the way in.
My spouse has my power of attorney. Isn't that enough?
A power of attorney says who can act for you. But a power of attorney won't step in later. According to the American Bar Association, it only lasts until you revoke it, or until you're gone.
And it doesn't open your phone. A binder doesn't replace it, and it isn't legal advice.
Can't Apple just unlock the phone?
Apple says it can't remove a passcode lock without erasing the phone.
Page 4 of the binder has room for your phone's passcode, so your spouse can get past your lock screen.
We'll get to it later. Is there any rush?
Wait, and your spouse finds out at the lock screen. Start now, and there's time to fix it, while you're still here to get it right.
Only you can name someone, today, who can get your data from Apple or Google later.
And the founding price ends on Thanksgiving night, or sooner, at the 50th order.
My spouse already knows my passcode. Do I need this?
Then your phone is the easy part. The way in is also your email, the account your phone is signed in to, and wherever your login codes go. And the binder covers what comes after.
Isn't a Legacy Contact, or my password manager's emergency access, enough?
Use them: page 4 has a row for your Legacy Contact and one for your password manager. But even with a Legacy Contact, Apple leaves out the passwords your iPhone saves in iCloud Keychain. And page 4 doesn't live in any company's system: it's on paper, in your house.
What is a Legacy Contact?
Only you can name someone, today, who can get your data from Apple or Google later. At Apple it's called Legacy Contact; at Google, Inactive Account Manager.
Page 4 has a row for who you've named with Apple or Google. No page can promise what any company will do later.
Who is it for?
For the one who handles the passwords, the accounts and the bills.
If you're the one who keeps it all running, you're also the only one who knows how it works. The binder puts the way in on paper for your spouse, then everything else, in order.
Is it made for the U.S.?
Yes. It's the U.S. Edition, written for U.S. households.
Can I trust Access-First?
The name is the idea: the way in first, everything else after. Access-First makes one binder, built that way.
It's not a law firm, and it's not an app. No page can promise what any company will do later. What a page can do is put the way in on paper.
You have 365 days to ask for every dollar back, for any reason. Questions? Write to hello@accessfirstbinder.com.
More about Access-First.
What if I buy it and never fill it in?
Level 1 is three pages, one evening (about an hour), and the binder tells you where to stop. Add the yearly reminder once, and it brings you back every April.
The binder and the Handoff Kit
What goes in a family emergency binder?
The Access-First Binder has 17 pages, in three levels, so you never face 17 pages at once:
- So your spouse can get in, and knows what to do first. Level 1, one evening (about an hour): the way into your phone and your email, the first steps and what not to do, already written for them, and where the papers are.
- So no one has to piece it together. Level 2, one weekend: every account, and who it would pay out to. The loans in your name only that your spouse may not know about. What to keep, stop or claim. Your social and other online accounts, and what to do with each. The people to call.
- So it's still true the day it's needed. Level 3, once a year at tax time: a 13-point check, and a calendar reminder that brings you back.
Page 4, the Access Chain, comes first: without it, nothing else in the binder can be opened.
I don't know where to start. How long does it take?
You don't start from scratch: the questions are already written, in the order that matters, the way in first.
Start with Level 1: one evening (about an hour). Then Level 2, one weekend. Then once a year, at tax time.
You're not stuck when you don't know an answer: the guide shows where to look, or what to write instead.
My spouse isn't a tech person. Will they be able to follow it?
The binder is written so a person who's never seen your accounts can follow it. Level 1 has the first steps and what not to do, already written for them.
In the Binder + Handoff Kit, your spouse also gets it step by step, in plain words. Bonus 1, For Whoever's Left, is Level 1, rewritten for them. Every step is spelled out, like "Pick up the phone. Press the side button." It doesn't assume they know what an Apple ID is, and it has room for five of your screenshots, from the lock screen to the password manager.
What's the difference between the Binder and the Binder + Handoff Kit?
Both include the 17-page Access-First Binder, the Start Here guide and the yearly reminder.
The Handoff Kit adds four things: two bonus booklets and two files.
- For Whoever's Left (Bonus 1): so your spouse can follow it without you. Level 1, rewritten for them in plain words.
- Where to Keep It (Bonus 2): so you know where the most sensitive page in your house should go.
- Editable copy: so it fits your household. An editable copy in Word or Google Docs.
- Every page as its own file: when one thing changes, ready to update and reprint.
At the founding price, the Binder + Handoff Kit is $57 and the Binder is $37.
Is it a legal document? Does it replace a lawyer?
No. A binder doesn't replace a will, a trust or a power of attorney, and it isn't legal advice. Access-First isn't a law firm.
It covers what they don't: the way in.
Even with the binder filled in, could my spouse still get locked out?
No page can promise what any company will do later. What a page can do is put the way in on paper.
Page 4 lists what your spouse needs to get into your phone and your email. With both, your spouse may be able to reset accounts, even the ones missing from your list.
Won't it go out of date?
The yearly check tells you what to update, and a change log keeps track. Change a password before then? Reprint page 4 and seal a new envelope.
Can I customize it for my family?
Every binder is filled in on screen, and you print what you'll hand over.
In the Binder + Handoff Kit, there's more: an editable copy in Word or Google Docs, so you can add rows and change the wording. And every page as its own file, ready to update and reprint.
Privacy and security
Worried about hackers? Is it safe to write my passcode down?
A page with your passcode is sensitive. So it goes on paper, sealed.
The binder shows you where your passcode should, and shouldn't, go.
Where should I keep it?
Page 17 of the binder tells you where to keep it. Page 4 goes in a sealed envelope, and one person outside your house knows where it is.
In the Binder + Handoff Kit, Bonus 2, Where to Keep It, goes further: four places, and what to keep in each. A home safe or locked drawer, a safe deposit box, a shared cloud drive, a relative's house, with what each is good and bad for. Use two of the four, never only one.
What if there's a fire?
Page 17 of the binder tells you where to keep it. Any copy you keep outside the house has page 4 left blank.
In the Binder + Handoff Kit, Bonus 2, Where to Keep It, weighs each place, fire included. For a home safe or locked drawer, the risks are a burglar, a fire or a lost key. A relative's house survives whatever happens at yours: it's the place for a second printed copy, sealed, with page 4 kept out of it. Use two of the four, never only one.
What if the binder is lost or stolen?
That's in the Binder + Handoff Kit. Bonus 2, Where to Keep It, has a plan if the binder is ever lost or stolen: what to change first, in order.
It also shows what to black out on any copy that leaves the house, and what can stay. Any copy that leaves the house should be safe to lose.
Why would I give my spouse my passcode?
So they can get past your lock screen the day it's needed. Page 4 goes in a sealed envelope, to be opened only if you can't.
How will my spouse know where it is?
The guide asks you to tell one person outside your house where the binder and the envelope are. Page 4 stays sealed, where they'll know to look.
When they open the binder, it tells them what to do first, and where the papers are.
Can Access-First see what I write?
What you write stays with you. Access-First never sees it.
You fill it in on your own device and keep it. Nothing to install, no account, and it's not an app.
Download and access
What happens after I pay?
After you pay, your order page opens with your download link. The same link comes by email from hello@accessfirstbinder.com, usually within a few minutes.
You get one zip file. Nothing ships. Unzip it and open Start Here first. It's easiest on a computer.
Will anything be shipped to me?
No. Nothing ships. You download it, fill it in on screen and print what you'll hand over.
What if the email with my link doesn't arrive?
Nothing after 15 minutes? Check spam or promotions, then email us with the address you used. Write to hello@accessfirstbinder.com.
Will it work on my computer?
Yes, in Chrome, Edge or Safari. No Adobe Acrobat, nothing to install, no account. On an iPhone, the Files app works. Android phones don't all handle PDF forms the same way, so the guide suggests a computer.
Can I print it? My spouse prefers paper.
Yes. You download it, fill it in on screen and print what you'll hand over.
The page your spouse needs first, page 4, goes on paper, sealed.
Price and guarantee
Is it a subscription?
No. You pay once, and nothing renews. And you have 365 days to ask for every dollar back.
Why pay, when I could make my own for free?
A blank page is free. It won't tell you what to write, or your spouse what to do.
With either binder:
- You don't start from scratch: the questions are already written, in the order that matters, the way in first.
- You're not stuck when you don't know an answer: the guide shows where to look, or what to write instead.
- Your spouse knows what to do first: those steps are already written.
With the Binder + Handoff Kit, also:
- Your spouse can follow it without you: a version written for them, step by step, for the day they open the envelope.
If a blank page doesn't get your spouse in, they find out on the day they need it.
Will the price go up?
Yes. The founding price is $57 for the Binder + Handoff Kit and $37 for the Binder.
It's for the first 50 orders, both options counted together, or until 11:59 p.m. Pacific on Thursday, November 26, Thanksgiving. Whichever comes first. Then it goes to $67 and $47. No extensions.
How does the guarantee work? How do I ask for a refund?
It's the Whole-Year Guarantee: a full year to ask for every dollar back. 365 days, for any reason.
If page 4 doesn't get your spouse into your phone and your email, or you change your mind for any other reason, email us at hello@accessfirstbinder.com within 365 days. No form, no questions, every dollar back. You keep the files.
One refund per customer.
Still have a question? Write to hello@accessfirstbinder.com or use the contact form. Learn more about Access-First.