Far & Near Press
Just in Case, Abroad: US Edition
A fillable “if something happens to me” binder for Americans living overseas, so the people who would have to step in know who to call, where your papers are and what you would want.
$14 USD, instant download
A 34-page fillable PDF in both US Letter and A4, a one-page First Week checklist for your family, and a matching spreadsheet. Personal-use licence.
Why it exists
If something happened to you while you were living abroad, would anyone back in the States know where to start? For most Americans overseas, life is split across two countries. There is a bank account here and one at home, a pension from a job you left years ago, health cover that works one way where you live and a different way in the US, a tax preparer who knows your FBAR history, and a landlord who doesn’t have your sister’s phone number. The people who would need to deal with all of that may live in neither place.
None of this is hard to write down. It’s just easy to put off, and when it isn’t written down, families end up piecing it together from old emails and unopened mail at the worst possible time. Just in Case, Abroad gives you one place to record it calmly, a section at a time, so it’s there if anyone ever needs it.
What’s inside
The binder is a 34-page PDF with 1,254 fillable fields. It comes in two page sizes, US Letter and A4, with exactly the same content, so you can print it wherever you or your family live. Part 1 covers what anyone living outside their home country needs to record. Part 2 covers things that are specific to being American abroad.
- A “Start here” page for whoever opens the binder first, with the handful of people to call and the most important things to find.
- Key people in both countries: family, your executor, lawyers and accountants, including your US expat tax preparer, plus neighbors and local helpers.
- Personal documents: where your passports, residence permit, certificates, wills and powers of attorney are kept, along with translations and apostilles.
- Money in two countries: bank accounts, investments, pensions, transfer services, debts, and the bills and subscriptions someone would need to cancel.
- Taxes: where past returns are kept in each country and who prepares them.
- Insurance: host-country health cover, international or US plans, life, home, car and travel, and whether anything covers repatriation.
- Property, vehicles and leases in any country.
- Digital life: which password manager you use and where its emergency access instructions are, phones, email, and what you’d like done with social media accounts.
- Children and pets: routines, schools, doctors, guardianship wishes and pet care.
- Medical information and wishes, and funeral and final wishes, including whether you would want to be brought back to the US or buried or cremated where you live.
- The first week: a checklist for the person handling things, followed by the US-specific steps (contacting the embassy, the Consular Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad, Social Security and your US tax preparer).
- US pages for your embassy or consulate and STEP enrollment, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad for your children, US tax and FBAR filing history, and 401(k), IRA and Social Security details.
- An annual review log, and a page of official government resources from the State Department, IRS, FinCEN and the Social Security Administration.
You also get a separate one-page First Week checklist (20 fillable fields, in Letter and A4) that you can print and give to family, and a companion .xlsx spreadsheet with the same sections, which opens in Excel or uploads to Google Sheets if you prefer working that way.
A look at the pages
These are real pages from the US Letter edition. The A4 edition has the same layout, sized for A4 paper.
Who it’s for
It was written for US citizens living outside the United States, whether you’ve been in the UK, the EU, Canada, Australia or somewhere else for a year or for decades. The general sections don’t assume any particular country’s rules, so they work wherever you live, and the US pages cover the things that follow Americans everywhere: the embassy, US taxes and reporting, Social Security and US retirement accounts.
It’s also for the family back home. Parents, adult children and siblings in the US are often the ones who would get the call, and they are usually the least able to find anything from thousands of miles away. The First Week checklist is written for them, and a filled-in copy of the binder means they wouldn’t be starting from nothing. If you’re the relative who worries about this, the binder can be a gentle way to start the conversation with the person abroad who would actually fill it in.
It isn’t a will, and it isn’t legal, tax or financial advice. It helps your family find your will and understand your wishes, but writing something in it doesn’t make it legally binding anywhere. For that, you still need professionals in the country where you live and in the US.
How it works
After you buy, you download a zip file with the two PDFs, the First Week checklist and the spreadsheet. Open the PDF in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, Apple Preview or a modern web browser, type into the fields and save. You can also print it and fill it in by hand. There’s no need to finish it in one sitting; most people will start with the “Start here” page and Key people, then work through the rest over a few weeks.
Once it’s filled in, store it somewhere secure, such as an encrypted folder or your password manager’s file storage, and tell at least one trusted person that it exists and how to reach it. The review log at the back is there so that once a year, or after a move, a birth or a new job, you can update it and note what changed.
Your information stays with you
The binder is a file on your own computer or phone. You fill it in offline, and nothing you type is uploaded or sent to us or anyone else. We never see it. It also never asks for passwords, PINs or full account numbers. Instead it asks where those things are kept, for example which password manager you use and where its emergency access instructions are, and the last four digits of an account so a relative can identify it.
Questions
Who is this for?
US citizens living outside the United States, especially those whose family is back in the US. It works whether you live in the UK, the EU, Canada, Australia or elsewhere, because the general sections don’t assume any particular country’s rules. It’s also useful for family members in the US, who are often the ones who would need the information.
Why a fillable PDF?
A fillable PDF is easy to update when things change, which they do, and you can still print it if you prefer paper. You type into the fields on screen and save, so there’s no handwriting to decipher and no app or account involved. It also means the file stays on your own device. If you’d rather work in a spreadsheet, the companion .xlsx file has the same sections.
Letter or A4?
Both are included, with the same content. Use A4 if you print in Europe, Australia or most other countries, and Letter if you or your family print in the US or Canada. The First Week checklist also comes in both sizes.
Do I need special software?
No. The PDF works in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, in Apple Preview and in most modern web browsers. Remember to save after typing. You can also print it and fill it in by hand.
Is my information private?
Yes. You fill the binder in offline on your own device, and nothing you type is uploaded or sent to us or anyone else. We never see it. Store the filled-in copy somewhere secure and tell a trusted person how to reach it.
Should I write my passwords in it?
No. The binder asks where things are kept, such as which password manager you use and where its emergency access instructions are. It never asks for passwords, PINs or full account numbers.
Is this a will?
No. It doesn’t replace a will, power of attorney, advance directive or guardianship appointment, and writing wishes in it doesn’t make them legally binding. It does help your family find those documents and understand what you wanted.
Does it tell me what taxes I owe or what forms I need to file?
No. It gives a short general description of US reporting such as the FBAR, with links to the IRS and FinCEN, and gives you space to record where your filings are kept and who prepares them. For advice on your own situation, ask a qualified tax professional.
Can I use it with Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload the included spreadsheet to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets.
Can I share it with my family?
You can print as many copies as your own household needs, and give a filled-in copy to the people who would need it. Please don’t share, upload or resell the blank file. The First Week checklist can be shared unchanged.
What about refunds?
Refunds are handled through the store you buy from, under that store’s refund policy. At the moment that’s Payhip. Because this is a digital download, please look at the preview pages before you buy. If a file won’t open or something is wrong with it, contact us through the store and we’ll help.
What if my circumstances change?
Update the file whenever something changes, and use the annual review log at the back to keep track.
Get the binder
Just in Case, Abroad: US Edition is $14 USD, a one-time purchase delivered as an instant download. It includes the 34-page fillable binder in US Letter and A4, the First Week checklist in both sizes, and the companion spreadsheet.
Personal-use licence: the files are licensed to the purchaser for use by their own household. You may fill them in, save them, and print as many copies as your household needs, and give a filled-in copy to the people who would need it. Please don’t resell, share or upload the blank files. The First Week checklist can be shared unchanged. © 2026 Far & Near Press.
Guides for Americans abroad
We’ve also written some longer guides on the questions that come up when you live overseas and start thinking about the “what if”. They are general information, with links to the official sources.
- What happens when a U.S. citizen dies abroad
How the embassy helps, what the Consular Report of Death Abroad (CRODA) is, bringing someone home, and the US steps that follow.
- The emergency information every American expat family should write down
Contacts with country codes, medical and insurance details, your embassy and STEP, children, pets and security codes.
- How to make sure your family can reach your accounts if something happens to you abroad
Listing accounts in two countries, beneficiaries, powers of attorney, two-factor codes, password managers and legacy contacts.
- An expat estate planning checklist for Americans
Wills in two countries, beneficiary forms, US estate tax in 2026, non-citizen spouses, guardianship and powers of attorney.
- When an American is hospitalized abroad: what family can do
What the embassy can and can’t do, privacy rules, who pays for treatment, sending emergency money and medical evacuation.