The FIRM Guide

The Heir Education Module

How the family is prepared to inherit and act — who holds the Family Guide, which professionals the heirs have met, the record of family meetings, and the legacy documents left behind.

Download template Nothing is entered on this page — you fill the template in privately.

Text file — the flexible one. Use it as-is, open it in any editor, or paste it into an AI tool to reshape the blank form to fit your family: rename a field, add a row, drop one you don't need.

Print / PDF — the ready-to-use one. Print it and fill it in by hand, or choose Save as PDF and complete it in your own offline PDF app. Either way it stays with you — the finished Secure Guide template goes inside your Vault.

One rule: only ever give an AI tool the blank template. Never paste your real information — passwords, account numbers, anything you'd keep secret — into an AI tool, an online service, or anywhere outside your own Vault. Customizing an empty form is fine; filling it in happens privately, offline. That's the same rule this site follows: nothing sensitive ever leaves your hands.

Secure Guide Starter Template

This template belongs in The Secure Guide, stored within The Vault. Update as the Family Guide is distributed and as heirs are introduced to professionals.

Family Guide Distribution
RecipientRelationship / RoleCopy FormatLocation SharedLast Updated
Key Professionals — Heir Introduction Status
ProfessionalRoleHas Met HeirsHeirs Have Contact InfoNotes
Family Meeting Record
DateParticipantsTopics CoveredFollow-Up Items
Legacy Documents
DocumentRecipientLocationDate WrittenLast Reviewed

Family Guide Starter Template

This template belongs in The Family Guide. It orients heirs to the estate plan and the people who can help.

A short message reassuring heirs that the guide was prepared for them; if reading because something has happened, start with the contacts page and first-calls section.

Brief description of the plan (e.g., revocable living trust, pour-over will, durable powers of attorney, healthcare directives), who holds the documents, and where originals are stored.

Roles and Responsibilities
RoleNameContactNotes

Where The Secure Guide is located and how to access it (instructions or pointer to the designated trusted person).

Do not make major financial or legal decisions in the first thirty days without speaking with the attorney and financial advisor.