New Delhi, July 29 -- A modern household's finances are often scattered across multiple bank accounts, systematic investment plans (SIPs) on various mutual fund platforms, provident funds, insurance policies, credit cards, digital wallets, trading accounts, property documents, cloud folders and password-protected apps. Together, these records constitute a financial picture that's fully understood by just one person. That arrangement works until illness, incapacity or death leaves the family to piece it together without guidance.

A financial master sheet can help bridge this gap. It is a single, carefully maintained record that maps the family's financial and administrative life: what exists, where it is held, where the supporting documen...