There's a category of information that falls between the legal formality of a Will and the emotional warmth of a personal letter. I think of it as your special instructions — the practical, specific guidance that your family will need when the time comes.
These are the things that aren't dramatic enough to put in a Will, but are important enough that their absence causes real stress. Where the spare key is. Who your solicitor is. What your wishes are for your pet. Which of your possessions carry sentimental meaning that wouldn't be obvious to anyone else.
The Advance Health Care Directive
One of the most important special instructions you can leave is an Advance Health Care Directive — sometimes called a Living Will. This document records how you would like to be cared for if you become unable to make or communicate decisions yourself.
Do you want life-sustaining treatment in certain circumstances? What are your preferences around resuscitation? Are there treatments you specifically do not want? These are questions that, unanswered, fall to medical teams and family members to decide in moments of enormous stress.
Writing down your wishes removes that burden from the people you love.
Your Funeral Wishes
Burial or cremation? A church service or a celebration of life? Hymns or your favourite songs? Flowers or donations to a charity close to your heart? Do you want a formal black dress code, or would you rather people wear colour?
These things matter. And they're deeply personal. The only way your family will know is if you tell them — in writing, somewhere they can find it.
Financial and Digital Instructions
Where are your important documents stored? Who is your bank? Your pension provider? Your mortgage company? Do you have a safety deposit box, and if so, where is the key?
And perhaps the most overlooked category in modern life: your digital world. Your email passwords. Your social media accounts. Your online banking. Your streaming subscriptions that will continue charging after you're gone unless someone cancels them.
The Debts and Obligations List
Your executor will need to know about any debts — loans, credit cards, hire purchase agreements. A list of these, kept with your other documents, saves an enormous amount of detective work at a difficult time.
Evelyn48 Has a Home for All of This
Our Honouring My Wishes workbooks are structured specifically to capture all of these special instructions — in one place, clearly organised, and ready for the people who need them. Because the goal isn't just to have the information. It's to make sure the right people can access it at the right time.
Start with whatever feels most urgent. Then come back and fill in the rest. Your family will thank you for every page.
— The Evelyn48 Team 💜