The care plan: everything only you know, written down

You might already have a will. Many thoughtful people do. But a will says who gets your things, and it says nothing about who feeds the dog tonight.

A care plan fills that gap. It's where you write down everything only you know, in your own words. Then the people who may one day act for you don't have to guess.

This guide explains what goes in one, how it fits next to your legal documents, and how to keep it current. Each section links to a longer post when you want more.

What is a care plan?

A care plan is a plain-language record of how you want to be looked after. It also says how your life should keep running if you can't run it for a while. It is personal and practical. Think less "estate plan," more "notes for the people I trust."

Here is the kind of thing that belongs in one:

• That you'd want to stay home as long as possible.
• That Daisy eats at six and walks at four, and hates the vacuum.
• That your brother should handle the house, and your friend Ruth should pick the music.
• That the spare key is with the neighbor at number 14.
• That you'd want pain relief first, and no feeding tube if you won't recover.
• That the good silver goes to your niece, and she already knows why.

None of that is legal jargon. All of it matters on the day someone has to act.

Why it matters more than people expect

Legal documents give someone authority. A medical power of attorney says who decides about your health care, and a financial power of attorney says who handles your money. Neither one says what you'd actually want.

Authority without instructions puts a heavy weight on whoever holds it. They're left to guess at 2 a.m. in a hospital corridor, and a care plan hands them your answer instead.

How is a care plan different from a will?

The short version: a will is about property after death. A care plan is about you, before and after.

A will may also become public if it goes through probate. A care plan is for the people acting for you.

The two work together. Our guide to estate planning documents covers the will, the living trust and both powers of attorney. The care plan is the layer that tells all of those people what you meant.

Where a care plan meets the law

Most of a care plan is guidance, not a legal command. But a few parts can be given legal weight if you follow your state's rules. Washington is a good example.

• Who handles your remains. Washington lets you control the disposition of your own remains. A written document expressing your wishes, signed in front of a witness, is enough legal authorization (RCW 68.50.160). You can also name an agent in a signed, witnessed document to direct it.
• Who gets your belongings. A Washington will or trust can refer to a separate written list for tangible personal property, like furniture, jewelry or books (RCW 11.12.260). The list must be in your handwriting or signed by you, and describe the items and people with reasonable certainty.
• Who cares for your pet. A trust for the care of an animal is valid and enforceable in Washington (RCW 11.118.020).
• What treatment you'd want at the end. Washington's Natural Death Act lets an adult sign a health care directive about life-sustaining treatment, with set signing rules (RCW 70.122.030).

Other states have their own versions of these rules, and the details differ. The point is simple: the warm, practical care plan and the formal documents should agree, and point to each other.

The posts in this guide, one by one

Here is every post in this part of the library, with a short note on each.

Letter of instruction

Letter of instruction: what to write and where to keep it covers the classic version of this idea. It's a letter to your executor and family about accounts, contacts, passwords and wishes. It isn't a will and doesn't replace one, so the post shows how to make it work alongside one.

The "in case I die" binder

The "in case I die" binder is about the folder many people keep in a closet. It walks through what to put in it, and the honest catch. A binder can be lost, outdated, or found too late, and it can't act on anything.

Pet trusts

Pet trusts: how to make sure your pet is cared for explains the legal tool for setting aside money for an animal's care. It covers who holds the money, who looks after the pet, and who checks that the money is used as you intended.

Who takes care of your dog tomorrow

Who takes care of your dog if you're in the hospital tomorrow? is the short-term version. A pet trust helps after death. This post is about tonight: who has a key, who knows the routine, and who the vet should expect.

Funeral wishes

Funeral wishes: writing them down helps you record what you'd like, from burial or cremation to the music. It also explains how to make your choices legally effective, using Washington's rules as the example.

Your notification list

Who to call first: building your notification list covers the people and places that should hear from someone. That includes friends, your doctor, your employer or former employer, your bank, and the neighbor who waters the plants.

Personal property memo

Personal property memo: who gets the things that matter explains how to leave specific belongings to specific people without redoing your will. It covers the Washington rule for a separate written list and its limits.

Treatment preferences

Writing down your medical treatment preferences in plain language is about the hardest page in any care plan. It shows how to turn values ("I want to be comfortable," "I want to know what's happening") into instructions doctors can follow.

What goes in a care plan: a checklist

You don't have to write it all at once. Start with the sections that would matter most next week, and fill in the rest over time.

Your health and treatment

• Treatments you'd want, and ones you'd refuse.
• What "a good day" looks like to you, and what would not be worth it.
• Whether you'd want to be at home, in a hospital or in hospice near the end.
• Your doctors, your pharmacy and your current medications.
• Who has your health care directive and medical power of attorney.

Our post on treatment preferences has prompts for each of these. If you've wondered how a living will differs from a medical power of attorney, see health care power of attorney vs living will.

Who to call, and in what order

• The first person to call, and a backup.
• Friends who should hear from someone, not from social media.
• Your employer or volunteer group, your faith community, your book club.
• Anyone who should not be called, said kindly and clearly.

The notification list post covers how to keep this list short, current and useful.

Your pets

• Each animal's name, food, feeding times and walk times.
• The vet's name and number, and any medications.
• Who has agreed to take each pet, short term and long term.
• Habits that would help a stranger: the hiding spot, the fear of thunder.

See who takes care of your dog tomorrow for the short-term plan and pet trusts for the long-term one.

Your home

• Where the spare key is, and who else has one.
• Alarm codes, the water shut-off, the furnace filter schedule.
• Plants, mail, garbage day, the gardener.
• What should happen to the house if you can't return to it.

Your belongings

• Items that should go to particular people, and why.
• Things with a story attached, so the story survives.

The personal property memo post explains how to make this list count in your state.

Your accounts and digital life

• Where your accounts are, without writing passwords in the plan itself.
• Who should handle email, photos and social media.

Our post on digital estate planning covers passwords, accounts and photos in more depth.

Your funeral and memorial

• Burial, cremation or another choice.
• A service or no service, and where.
• Music, readings, who speaks, what to wear.
• Any prearrangement already made, and where the paperwork is.

The funeral wishes post walks through each choice.

How to start: one afternoon

A care plan sounds like a big project. It doesn't have to be. Most of it is things you already know and have simply never written down.

1. Start with tomorrow. Write the page someone would need if you went into the hospital tonight: who to call, the pets, the key, the plants.
2. Add your health wishes. Write a few sentences about what matters most to you if you're seriously ill. Plain words are fine.
3. List the people. Who should be told, in what order, and who you've named in each legal role.
4. Note the things with stories. The quilt, the silver, the recipe box. Say who should have each, and why.
5. Write down your funeral wishes. Even "something small, and Ruth picks the music" is a real answer.
6. Tell someone it exists. A plan only helps if the right people know where to find it.

You can stop after step one and still be far ahead. The rest can come over the following weeks, a little at a time.

Questions to get you started

If a blank page feels hard, these prompts help:

• What would you want a stranger to know before walking into your home?
• What does a good ordinary day look like for you?
• Who would you want sitting with you in the hospital?
• What would you hate for someone to decide without asking you?

A short example

Here is a typical case, a composite. Ellen, 68, lives in her own house with a terrier named Biscuit. Her niece lives two states away.

Ellen's care plan is a few pages long. It says her friend Carol has a key and walks Biscuit if Ellen is ever in the hospital. It says Biscuit eats twice a day and is afraid of the dishwasher.

It says she'd want to come home if she can, with help, rather than move. It lists six people to call, in order, and her doctor's number. It says she wants a small service at the garden club, and that her niece should have her mother's quilt.

When Ellen has hip surgery, Carol already knows what to do. Ellen's medical power of attorney reads the treatment page with the surgeon. Nothing about Biscuit's evening has to be invented.

Letter of instruction, binder or care plan?

These three ideas overlap. The difference is mostly about who can use them and when.

A good care plan often includes what a letter of instruction would. Our posts on the letter of instruction and the in case I die binder show where each fits.

How to make a care plan useful, not just written

A plan in a drawer is just paper. Three things turn it into something people can act on.

Make sure it reaches the right people

Your medical power of attorney needs the treatment page. Your executor needs the funeral page and the property list. Your neighbor needs the pet page and nothing else.

It also helps to keep a wallet card that says where the plan is. Our post on the in case of emergency card explains what to carry.

Pair it with people who have authority

Wishes need someone who is allowed to carry them out. That means a medical power of attorney, a financial power of attorney, an executor and, if you have a trust, a trustee. Our guide to the four roles explains how to choose who fills each.

You can also name a professional fiduciary. That means someone legally required to act in your interest and follow what you wrote.

Keep it current

Lives change. A pet passes and a new one arrives, a friend moves away, a diagnosis shifts what matters. Look at it on your birthday, or whenever something big happens.

Where Kinly fits

The care plan is the heart of a Kinly membership. Members write theirs in Kinly's software, keep it on file, and can change it any time from a phone.

It sits with a team on call around the clock, reachable through the number on the member's card. Trella Trust Company, a Washington State chartered trust company, can be named in any of the four roles.

That makes the plan something people with authority act on. You decided; they carry it out. How it works has the full picture.

Common questions

What is a care plan, and how is it different from a will?

A care plan is a written record of how you want to be cared for and how your life should keep running. A will only speaks after death and mostly covers who inherits property. A care plan also covers illness and incapacity: treatments, routines, pets, people to call and the house.

Is a care plan legally binding?

Mostly, it is guidance for the people you've given authority to. Some parts can carry legal weight if you follow your state's rules. In Washington, that includes a signed, witnessed document about your remains, and a list of belongings your will or trust refers to.

Who should have a copy of my care plan?

Anyone who may act for you should see the parts they need. That usually means your medical power of attorney, your financial power of attorney and your executor. A neighbor or pet sitter may only need the page about the house or the dog.

How often should I update my care plan?

Whenever something important changes: a new pet, a move, a new diagnosis, a friend who can no longer help. A yearly look is a good habit too. The easier it is to edit, the more likely it is to stay current.

Does my care plan need to mention Social Security or Medicare?

It helps to note where your Social Security number and benefit information are kept. According to Medicare.gov, in most cases the funeral home will report a death to Social Security (Medicare.gov). It asks for the person's Social Security number to do it.

Sources

• RCW 68.50.160: Right to control disposition of remains
• RCW 11.12.260: Separate writing may direct disposition of tangible personal property
• RCW 11.118.020: Validity of animal trust
• Chapter 11.118 RCW: Trusts for animals
• RCW 70.122.030: Natural Death Act, directive to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment
• Medicare.gov: Report a death