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What to Do Before You Travel: Leaving Your Paperwork in Order

By Jason Su · Updated September 18, 2026

Before you go, do six things: tell one person where your documents are, put those documents in one place, make sure someone can get into your home, hold your mail, photograph what is valuable, and keep a copy of your travel details somewhere other than your phone. It takes about an hour, and it covers both of the things that can go wrong — something happening at home while you are away, and something happening to you.

The two risks, and why they are different

Most travel checklists cover the first one only. Both are worth ten minutes.

Something happens at home. A leak, a break-in, a fire. Someone needs to get in, and they need to know what was there for the insurance claim.

Something happens to you. You are hospitalised abroad, or you do not come home. Someone needs to find your documents, reach your accounts, and know what you would want — from a distance, without you.

The second is rarer and more consequential, and it is the one almost nobody prepares for.

The six things to do before you go

1. Tell one person where your documents are

One sentence, to one person:

“The binder is in the bottom drawer of the desk in the study. The safe code is written on the back of the cover page.”

That is the whole action. Without it, everything else on this list is theoretical. See how to set up an emergency binder if you do not have one.

2. Put the documents in one place

Scattered paperwork is worse than filed paperwork when someone else is looking. Before a trip is a good moment to confirm that the important documents are together — the binder, the safe, or both, and that the locations match what you have written down.

Use the Document Inventory if you have not done this before. It takes about an hour the first time.

3. Make sure someone can get into your home

A key with a neighbour, a spare in a lockbox, or a code given to family. Consider:

• Plants and pets — someone has to come in anyway, so make it easy
• Water and heat — an unattended leak or a failed furnace is the most common home problem
• A contact number for whoever is checking

4. Hold your mail

Mail piling up in a mailbox is the clearest possible signal that nobody is home. A hold with the postal service is free and takes a few minutes, and it can usually be set up online.

5. Photograph what is valuable

For insurance purposes, a walk-through video or a set of photos is worth more than any receipt. Open the drawers, film the electronics, and note the jewellery.

Save the images somewhere outside the house — some insurers now ask for exactly this, and reconstructing a list after a fire is close to impossible.

6. Keep travel details where family can reach them

Not only on your phone. Someone needs to know:

• Where you are staying, and when
• Your flight numbers and dates
• A copy of your passport or ID, kept at home
• Who to contact if something happens to you

A single page in the binder is enough, and it takes five minutes to write.

If something happens while you are away

This is the scenario the list above is really for. Three things make it work:

Someone can physically get in. Not just to the house — to the safe, the drawer, the file. This is why the code or key location matters.

Someone knows which accounts exist. If your logins are in a password manager, the person you named as an emergency contact can request access. That is the mechanism described in how to leave digital passwords to family.

Someone knows what you would want. Your healthcare agent should know they are named, and ideally know your wishes. If you travel abroad, it is worth telling them where your advance directive is — see what your state calls the form.

The ten-minute version

Leaving tomorrow and no time for any of the above? Do this:

1. Send one message: “If anything happens, the documents are in the [place].”
2. Hold the mail if you can, or ask a neighbour to collect it.
3. Photograph the main rooms as you walk out.

Three actions. It is not the full list, and it is far more than most people do.

What not to do

• Do not announce the trip publicly before you go. A house that is known to be empty is a target. Post the photos when you get back.
• Do not leave documents on a desk or in plain sight. Someone checking on the house should not be able to read your paperwork.
• Do not keep the only copy of your travel details on your phone. Phones get lost, run out of battery, and are sometimes the thing that gets taken.
• Do not assume family knows where anything is. The answer is almost always no. Ask before you go rather than discovering it later.
• Do not cancel your insurance or let a policy lapse because you are away. Confirm what your cover includes while travelling, and that the house remains insured while unoccupied if the trip is long.
• Do not skip the mail. It is the single clearest signal to anyone watching, and it is free to fix.

Frequently asked

What if I live alone and have nobody to tell?

Then the local arrangements matter more: a neighbour with a key, a hold on the mail, and a note left where an emergency responder would look. If you have no emergency contact at all, that is worth addressing separately — see how to talk to your family about your wishes.

How long can a house be empty before insurance is affected?

That depends on your policy, and long trips are often the case where cover changes. Check with your insurer before a long absence rather than after.

Should I leave a copy of my passport at home?

Yes — a photocopy kept in your binder is useful if the original is lost, and it helps family at home if something happens. Do not carry the only copy of anything.

Do I need to tell my bank I am travelling?

Many banks no longer require it, but card fraud systems can block legitimate foreign transactions. Check your bank’s current guidance before you go.

What about my phone’s passcode?

If everything you need is on your phone and only you can open it, that is a risk while travelling. The relevant settings are covered in what happens to your online accounts.

Is this necessary for a short trip?

The one-sentence message and the mail hold take five minutes and cover most of the value. The rest is worth doing for longer trips, or once, so it is already in place for every trip afterwards.

Next step

Send the one message today: where your documents are, to one person. That single sentence is the part that makes everything else on this page work.

Then check the binder is current using the free Master Checklist, and update your “where everything lives” page with the Checklist Builder if anything has moved since last year.

This is general information, not legal, financial, or medical advice. Insurance terms, banking rules, and travel requirements differ and change over time — please confirm details with your providers and talk with a licensed professional about your situation.