This document is for education and personal organization. It is not legal or medical advice. For legal documents such as powers of attorney and advance directives, please consult a qualified attorney in your state.
Why This Document Exists
Every caregiver eventually asks some version of the same question, even if they never say it out loud: what happens to the person I care for if something happens to me?
It's an uncomfortable question to sit with. Most caregivers are so focused on the person in front of them that they never picture themselves out of the picture. But caregivers get sick. They have accidents. They need surgery. They burn out. They travel. And sometimes, they pass away before the person they've been caring for does.
None of that is meant to alarm you. It's meant to explain why this document exists.
We call it A Document of Love because that's exactly what it is. Filling this out isn't about expecting the worst. It's about making sure the person you love is never left without someone who understands them, no matter what happens to you.
Three Situations, Not Just One
This plan isn't built for emergencies alone, though it works for those too. It's built around three situations caregivers actually run into:
Temporary handoff: you're sick, hospitalized, having surgery, traveling, or you simply need a break, and someone else needs to step in for a while.
Emergency handoff: you're suddenly unavailable and someone has to take over today, without notice.
Permanent handoff: you become unable to continue caregiving, or you pass away, and someone else needs to take your place for good.
Most caregivers, if they prepare at all, only prepare for the emergency scenario. But temporary handoffs happen far more often, and permanent ones matter far more when they finally arrive. This plan is built to cover all three, using the same document.
A Legal Document Is Not a Caregiving Plan
Many families believe that once a power of attorney or advance directive is signed, they're covered. Those documents matter, and we hope you have them. But they answer a different question. A healthcare or financial power of attorney says who is legally allowed to make decisions. It does not say how the person you care for likes their coffee, what calms them when they're upset, what time they need their medication, or who to call first when something goes wrong.
Legal authority and caregiving readiness are two different things. A backup caregiver can hold every legal document in the world and still walk into the situation with no idea what a normal day actually looks like. This plan exists to close that gap.
Why Fireside Village Recommends This Document
Of everything in our Resource Library, this is one we return to again and again, because so much of caregiving knowledge lives only in one place: your head. You know things about the person you care for that have never been written down anywhere, what frightens them, what soothes them, what gets them into the car, which chair they prefer, how they show pain when they can't describe it in words.
If something happened to you tomorrow, would anyone else know those things?
We encourage every Fireside Village member to complete this plan, even if you never expect to need it. Not because something bad is coming, but because the peace of mind is worth having whether or not it's ever tested.
A Note on Sensitive Information
This plan asks where your important documents and information are kept, not what's inside them. Please don't write account numbers, passwords, or Social Security numbers directly onto these pages. Instead, note where that information is securely stored (a password manager, an attorney's office, a locked fireproof box) and who is authorized to access it. That keeps this plan useful without turning it into a risk of its own.
How to Use This Plan
Fill in what you can. Leave blank what you can't. Some sections may not apply to your situation, so skip them. Come back and update it whenever something changes: a new medication, a new doctor, a new backup caregiver, a diagnosis that changes daily care.
This document works either way, saved and sent electronically to whoever might need it, or printed and kept somewhere easy to find. Many caregivers do both: a digital copy emailed to the backup caregiver and family, and a printed copy kept in the home. The shaded boxes throughout this plan are built to type directly into on a computer, or to write into by hand if you print it first.
Keep a copy where you can find it quickly, and give a copy to whoever would need it. The very next page, Start Here If I Am Suddenly Gone, is designed to stand alone. If someone only has a minute, that page should tell them what they need to know.
You don't have to finish this in one sitting. You just have to start.
START HERE IF I AM SUDDENLY GONE
This page is designed to stand on its own. Everything else in this plan is behind it.
Person being cared for
Can this person safely be left alone? (Yes / No)
Call first — name, relationship, phone
Backup caregiver — name, relationship, phone
Critical medications today
Major safety concerns
Doctor / hospice / home health contact
Full plan located at
Legal documents located at
Plan last updated
The Full Continuity Plan
Complete the sections that apply to your situation. Skip what doesn't.
Section 1: If Something Happens to Me
A backup caregiver's agreement to help is a good-faith arrangement, not a legal guarantee, but naming one now still matters.
Primary caregiver (your name and phone)
First person to call
Backup caregiver: name, relationship, phone
Has this person actually agreed to be the backup? (Yes / No / Not yet asked)
What should happen in the first 24 hours
Section 2: About the Person I Care For
The basics someone would need before they even walk in the door.
Full name and date of birth
Diagnoses / medical conditions
Communication ability (can they speak, read, write, understand?)
Cognitive status
Mobility
Hearing / vision
Other functional limitations
Do they have a Five Wishes, living will, or similar document capturing their own values (comfort, spiritual, end-of-life wishes)? Where is it located?
Their own wishes, in their words: anything they've told you about how they want to be treated or cared for
Section 3: Medical Information
This is what a doctor, nurse, or ER would ask for first.
Primary care provider: name and phone
Specialists: name(s) and phone
Current medications: name, dose, timing, purpose
Allergies
Pharmacy: name and phone
Insurance: plan, ID number location, phone
Medical equipment used
Recent hospitalizations / major medical history
Preferred hospital / emergency department, if applicable
Section 4: A Normal Day
What a typical day looks like, so a substitute caregiver isn't guessing.
Wake time and morning routine
Meals and food preferences
Medication times
Bathing / toileting routine
Naps or rest times
Afternoon / evening routine
Bedtime routine
Regular appointments
Regular activities they enjoy
Section 5: Things You Won't Find in the Medical Chart
This may be the most important section in the whole plan.
What calms them when they're upset
What frightens or upsets them
How they show pain or discomfort
Foods they will (and won't) eat
How to encourage bathing or showering
Comforting phrases or approaches that work
Where they like to sit / objects that matter to them
How they react to strangers
Time-of-day patterns (e.g., sundowning)
Anything else a stand-in caregiver should know
Section 6: Safety and Supervision
What could go wrong, and what to watch for.
Fall risk
Wandering risk
Driving status
Swallowing precautions
Seizure history
Oxygen use
Help needed with transfers or toileting
Pets or firearms in the home
Door alarms / monitoring equipment in use
Enrolled in a medical ID / safe-return program (e.g., MedicAlert Safe & Found)? Membership info located where?
Where a recent photo and physical description are kept, in case of a missing-person search
Things this person should never be left alone doing
Section 7: People and Services
Everyone already involved in this person's care.
Family members involved: name, phone, role
Neighbors or friends who help
Home health agency
Hospice (if applicable)
Paid caregivers
Transportation help
Meal services / adult day program
Clergy or spiritual support
Section 8: Legal and Decision-Making Information
Note where each document is located and who is authorized to access it, not account numbers or passwords.
Healthcare power of attorney / surrogate: name, phone, document location
Financial power of attorney: name, phone, document location
Advance directive / living will: location
DNR / POLST, if applicable: location
Will: location
Insurance policies: location
Funeral or burial arrangements, if pre-planned: location and provider
Where sensitive records (passwords, account details) are securely kept, and who is authorized to access them
Section 9: Home and Practical Operations
What it takes to keep the household running without you.
Where supplies are kept
Equipment instructions / location
Electricity-dependent equipment
Food / grocery routine
Pets: care routine
House access: where keys or codes are kept (not the code itself)
Recurring bills and household income: what needs to keep getting paid, and how
Anything else needed to keep things running
Section 10: Keeping This Plan Alive
A continuity plan works best when it grows with the person and their care.
Date prepared
Date last updated
Who has copies of this plan
Where the master copy is kept
Review schedule (e.g., every 6 months, or after any major change)
Who else can update this plan if I'm the one who becomes unable to
A Note from Fireside Village
Thank you for taking the time to build this plan. It isn't the easiest document in our Resource Library to fill out, and that's exactly why it matters.
If your situation changes, come back and update it. If you're unsure how to use the plan or what a section is asking for, reach out to one of our admins. We can help you understand the document and point you toward additional resources when needed.
You know this person better than anyone. This plan makes sure that knowledge doesn't disappear if you're not the one holding it.
