Where are the papers?

The short answer

Most of what you need is in a handful of usual places, and almost all of it can be replaced if it is not there. Start one folder now and fill it as things turn up.

You do not have to find everything this week. You only need the papers someone is asking for now.

This chapter explains how things usually work in the United States. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and the rules where you live may differ. Before you act on anything here, check it with one of the people named at the end of the chapter.

What to do

1. Get one folder, and put a sheet at the front that says what is where.
2. Look in the usual places once, with someone beside you if you can.
3. Put everything you find in the folder.
4. List what is missing on the back of the front sheet.
5. Replace only what someone needs this month.
6. Keep opening his mail for a year, and write down every sender.

What can wait

• Sorting all his papers. Gathering them in one place is enough for now.
• Shredding anything. Do not shred yet, even papers that look old.
• Replacing documents nobody has asked for.

Who can help

The county clerk's or recorder's office, or in some states the town clerk, can tell you how to replace a marriage certificate or a deed. For military records, call the National Archives' National Personnel Records Center at 314-801-0800.

For lost life insurance, use the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator. For forgotten money, start at unclaimed.org or MissingMoney.com.

For past tax returns, ask his accountant or tax preparer, or the IRS.

The rules, phone numbers and web addresses in this book were checked against the agencies’ own pages in October 2026. They change, so check anything you rely on with the office itself.

Hear when the next book is out

Five or six short emails a year at most, and a note when a new book is out. Each one is about something that tends to come up in the first two years. You can unsubscribe whenever you like.