Setting up a Notfallordner: checklist in 7 categories

Why everyone needs a Notfallordner

An accident, a stroke, a sudden death. From one second to the next, relatives have to make decisions, cancel contracts, manage accounts and inform authorities. Which steps and deadlines run immediately in the case of inheritance and what concretely has to be done in the first hours after a death is only really understood by many at that point. Without a structured overview of your finances, contracts and powers of attorney, they hit a wall.

The reality in Germany: only about 30 percent of adults have a Vorsorgevollmacht. Even fewer have a complete Notfallordner. The result is that, in the worst case, relatives have to apply for a guardianship procedure (Betreuungsverfahren) at the local court. Such procedures take weeks, cost money and are avoidable.

A Notfallordner is no sign of pessimism. It is a sign of responsibility.

The 7 categories of your Notfallordner

Category 1: Precaution and directives

This category is the most important. Without these documents, your relatives can do almost nothing in the worst case.

What belongs in it:

• Vorsorgevollmacht: Determines who may act for you when you can no longer do so yourself. Covers banking business, contract matters and dealings with authorities.
• Patientenverfuegung (German living will / advance health-care directive): Regulates your wishes on medical treatment when you can no longer express them.
• Betreuungsverfuegung (German directive nominating a preferred legal guardian): Specifies whom the court should appoint as a guardian (Betreuer) if guardianship becomes necessary.
• Bestattungsverfuegung (German directive on funeral arrangements): Describes your wishes for the funeral (burial or cremation, place, sequence).
• Organ donation declaration: Documents your decision on organ donation.

Important: The Vorsorgevollmacht should be notarised. Only then will it be accepted by banks and authorities without further ado. A privately written power of attorney is often refused.

Category 2: Finances

A complete overview of your financial situation saves your relatives weeks of research.

What belongs in it:

• Bank accounts: Name of the bank, IBAN, type of account (current, call money, securities). No passwords in plain text.
• Securities accounts and securities: Custodian bank, account number, type of investments
• Insurance policies: Policy numbers, insurer, type of insurance (life, disability, liability, legal expenses)
• Loans and borrowings: Creditor bank, residual debt, monthly instalment, term
• Guarantees given: For whom, in what amount
• Bausparvertraege (German building-society savings contracts) and Riester/Ruerup (state-subsidised German pension contracts): Contract numbers, building society
• Safe deposit boxes: Bank, location, location of key
• Safe or strongbox: Location, combination (deposit sealed)

Tip: Create a tabular overview. A simple table with columns "Institution", "Contract number", "Type" and "monthly burden" is enough.

Category 3: Real estate

Real estate ownership generates ongoing duties. Without an overview, relatives can neither collect rent nor produce service-charge statements.

What belongs in it:

• Grundbuch (German land register) extracts: Local court, register page, ownership situation
• Tenancy agreements: Tenants, rent level, notice periods
• Property management: Name, contact details, management contract
• Insurance policies: Building insurance, household contents insurance, property owners' liability
• Grundschuld (German non-accessory land charge securing a loan) and mortgages: Bank, encumbrance, term
• Service-charge statement: Specimen of the last statement
• Tradespeople and service providers: Contact list for emergencies (heating, water, electrician)

Category 4: Business

For business owners and self-employed people this category is existential. Without clear rules, the operation can come to a standstill within a few days.

What belongs in it:

• Articles of association: Current version of all agreements (GmbH, GbR, KG)
• Handelsregister (German commercial register) extract: Current
• Powers of attorney: Prokura (German statutory commercial power of attorney), Handlungsvollmacht (limited commercial authority), bank powers of attorney
• Emergency plan: Who continues the business? Who has access to accounts, servers and premises?
• Steuerberater and auditor: Contact details, client number
• Contracts with key clients and suppliers: Overview of the most important business relationships
• Insurance policies: Public liability, D&O, business interruption
• Succession arrangements: Will, succession clause in the articles of association, possibly entrepreneur's will (Unternehmertestament)

Category 5: Digital legacy

The digital legacy is often forgotten and increasingly causes problems. Without access data, e-mail accounts, social media profiles and online contracts remain unreachable.

What belongs in it:

• E-mail accounts: Provider, username (no passwords in plain text)
• Social media profiles: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, XING
• Cloud storage: Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud
• Online banking access: Reference to the access (not the password itself)
• Subscriptions and memberships: Netflix, Spotify, magazines, associations
• Cryptocurrencies: Wallet addresses, reference to seed-phrase custody
• Websites and domains: Hosting provider, registrar, access data
• Password managers: Name of the manager and reference to the master password

Security note: NEVER write passwords in plain text in the Notfallordner. Use a password manager instead and lodge the access instructions for the manager separately and sealed.

Category 6: Contracts and documents

All ongoing contracts and personal documents that relatives need in the worst case.

What belongs in it:

• ID card and passport: Copies (originals not in the folder)
• Birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce decree
• Tax returns: Last three years, tax number, tax office
• Will: Reference to the storage location (original at the Nachlassgericht (German probate court) or with the notary). Bear in mind: under certain circumstances a will can also be challenged.
• Marriage contract or Erbvertrag (German contract of inheritance, binding agreement on succession): Copy (original with the notary)
• Tenancy agreement for the apartment: Current, with notice period
• Employment contract: Current
• Mobile, internet, electricity, gas: Contract overview

Category 7: Contacts for the worst case

A current contact list is worth its weight in gold in the worst case. Your relatives often do not know whom they have to inform.

What belongs in it:

• GP and specialists: Name, address, telephone
• Steuerberater: Name, firm, telephone, e-mail
• Lawyer: Name, firm, telephone, e-mail
• Notary: Name, in particular where powers of attorney are lodged there
• Insurance broker: Name, telephone
• Employer: Contact person, telephone
• Trusted person: Who should be informed first in an emergency?
• Funeral directors: Where pre-selected

Storage: where does the Notfallordner sit safely?

Option 1: At home in the fireproof safe

A fireproof document safe (from about EUR 80) protects against fire and water damage. At least one trusted person must know the location and the combination.

Option 2: Bank safe deposit box

Bank safe deposit boxes cost between EUR 30 and 150 per year. The disadvantage: in the case of death, relatives can only open the safe deposit box with an Erbschein (German certificate of inheritance, issued by the Nachlassgericht) or a power of attorney. That can take weeks.

Option 3: Professional storage with the Steuerberater

Tax advisers are subject to professional secrecy under § 203 StGB. Storage with the Steuerberater offers two advantages: the documents are protected against unauthorised access and, in the worst case, retrievable by a trusted person. As your Steuerberater they also know the tax context of your documents.

The right combination

In practice a combination has proved itself: the originals of the Vorsorgevollmacht are with the notary. The complete Notfallordner is at home or with the Steuerberater. A trusted person knows the storage location.

Annual updating

A Notfallordner is only as good as its last update. Set yourself an appointment once a year to review the folder.

Checklist for the annual update:

• Have new accounts, contracts or insurance policies been added?
• Have contracts been terminated or accounts closed?
• Have contact details changed (doctors, lawyers, Steuerberater)?
• Is the Vorsorgevollmacht still current?
• Has your family situation changed (marriage, divorce, birth)?
• Are the access details for the password manager still correct?

Common mistakes with the Notfallordner

1. Writing passwords in plain text: Use a password manager. Lodge the access instructions sealed.
2. Creating the folder and forgetting it: Without regular updating the folder quickly becomes outdated.
3. Nobody knows the storage location: At least two trusted persons must know where the folder is.
4. No Vorsorgevollmacht: The most common mistake. Without a power of attorney, relatives have to apply for a guardianship procedure at the court.
5. Business not considered: Self-employed people and business owners often forget the operational part.
6. Ignoring the digital legacy: E-mail accounts, social media and online contracts belong in the folder.

Notfallordner and tax optimisation

A well-structured Notfallordner is not only for precaution. It is also the basis for forward-looking tax planning.

Document Schenkungen (gifts under German law, subject to ErbStG): Every Schenkung and the Freibetraege (personal tax-free allowances) used should be documented in the Notfallordner. The Freibetraege renew every ten years under § 14 ErbStG. Without documentation, earlier Schenkungen enter the calculation of the Erbschaftsteuer (German inheritance tax).

Structure business assets: For business owners, the Notfallordner is the starting point for succession planning. Without an overview of articles of association, valuations and powers of attorney, no sensible succession structure can be put in place. Larger entrepreneur families should also consider setting up a Familienstiftung (German family foundation, often used for asset protection over generations) as a structuring instrument.

Optimise insurance: The overview of all insurance policies reveals double insurance and gaps. An annual review often saves several hundred euros. The question of whether relatives should better disclaim the inheritance in the worst case can also be clarified in advance with a complete Notfallordner.

Step-by-step: setting up the Notfallordner in 7 stages

In my advisory practice I recommend this structure — it has proved itself over many mandates because it is ordered by urgency.

Step 1: Have Vorsorgevollmacht and Patientenverfuegung drawn up by a notary

Have both documents notarised (Vorsorgevollmacht mandatory for real estate transactions and larger banking business). Original in the folder, certified copy with the trusted person. Registration with the central register of precautionary directives at the Bundesnotarkammer.

Step 2: Create the financial inventory

All accounts, securities accounts, insurance policies, building-society contracts, savings books with institution, account number, online access (in a sealed envelope or with the password-manager recovery key). Show separately any powers of attorney granted to third parties.

Step 3: Document real estate

Grundbuch extracts, purchase contracts, insurance policies (building, liability), tenancy agreements with tenants. For foreign property: national ownership records and, if applicable, certified translations.

Step 4: File business documents

Articles of association, current Handelsregister extracts, last three annual financial statements, valuation reports if available, powers of attorney within the company, succession clauses in the contract.

Step 5: Structure the digital legacy

List of all e-mail accounts, cloud storage, social media profiles, online subscriptions and commercially used accounts. Master password in the password manager, emergency access enabled for a trusted person. The Federal Court of Justice clarified in its ruling on the "digital inheritance" (case No. III ZR 183/17) that the digital legacy also falls under inheritance law — precaution is therefore no luxury.

Step 6: Review contracts and insurance policies

Life insurance with named beneficiaries, pension and care insurance, memberships, maintenance contracts. Cancel double insurance — my clients save on average EUR 200-600 per year here.

Step 7: Fix the contact list and storage location

Important contacts (Steuerberater, lawyer, notary, house bank, doctor), storage location of the folder (fireproof box, bank safe deposit box), authorised persons with access rules. Annual review appointment in the calendar.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Why is the statutory spouse representation right not enough?

The spouse representation right (Notvertretungsrecht) under § 1358 BGB, in force since 2023, applies only for a maximum of six months, only for medical decisions and only for spouses — not for unmarried partners, registered civil partners without marriage, or adult children. For banking and real estate business it does not apply at all. Anyone relying on the spouse representation right gets a guardianship procedure within weeks in the worst case.

Who is liable if the Notfallordner is incomplete?

Nobody in the legal sense — but in practice the heirs pay. From my practice: an undocumented foreign securities account, a forgotten life insurance with unclear beneficiaries, an unregistered precautionary register — each of these points costs several thousand euros in lawyer's and notary's fees to sort out in the inheritance.

Where do I best store the Notfallordner?

My standard: a fireproof safe at home for the original, a duplicate (certified) with a trusted person or in a bank safe deposit box. For sensitive content (passwords, safe codes): two-stage system — main folder without passwords, separate sealed envelopes with the notary or lawyer.

How often does the Notfallordner have to be updated?

At least once a year (I recommend the birthday as a fixed date), plus after every major life event: marriage, divorce, birth of a child, house purchase, business start-up, inheritance, asset restructuring. A Vorsorgevollmacht from 2015 with five banks that no longer exist today is worthless.

What happens to the digital legacy if I have not made provision?

The heirs have to request every account individually with the death certificate. With US tech corporations (Google, Meta, Apple), this often drags on for months; some accounts are never released. Crypto wallets without a recovery phrase are practically lost.

Who may use the Notfallordner while I am alive?

Nobody without express authority. The Notfallordner is private; access in the worst case is governed by the Vorsorgevollmacht. Without a power of attorney, access even by close relatives is legally delicate.

How do I secure the bank safe deposit box for the worst case?

Important: separate authority of the bank over the safe deposit box (separate from account authority) to the trusted person. Without it, the heir has to present an Erbschein, which takes four to eight weeks to process. An authorised person with safe deposit box authority has immediate access.

Comparison table: Notfallordner in place vs. not in place

Next steps

The most important step is the first: start. A Notfallordner does not have to be perfect to be useful. Begin with category 1 (precaution) and work your way through the further categories.

Use the Notfallkoffer for an interactive checklist. Or get an overview of your succession situation with the Erbschafts-Navigator.

For professional storage and the tax optimisation of your Notfallordner, book a first meeting. As a Steuerberater, I combine precautionary planning with tax structuring, so that your family is protected in the worst case.

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