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Emergency contacts: zero cost, but the price of not updating them only appears when something goes wrong
This is the easiest item on the whole checklist to skip, because it costs nothing and nobody will chase you about it.
Its nature is this: it makes no difference at all day to day, and at the moment something goes wrong it decides who gets called.
Where to update
- Company HRSimply put, it is who they call when you collapse at the office.
- Medical providersIncluding on the charts at your primary care doctor, dentist, and specialists.
- Your children's schoolIf you have kids, this one is the most urgent: the school's authorized pickup list and emergency contact order.
- Landlord or building managementLike when there is a leak, a fire alarm, or anyone needs to enter your home.
- The gym and other memberships
Two fields that mean different things
Many forms actually contain two distinct things, worth thinking about separately:
- Emergency contact(Who gets notified when something happens)
- Authorized listMeaning who has the authority to make decisions for you, pick up your kids for you, or enter your home for you.
After marriage, your spouse usually belongs on both. But note: "authorization" has limits in a medical settingPutting your spouse in the emergency contact field does not give them medical decision-making authority. That requires separate documents (see item 58 of the checklist).
Don't list only one
Making your spouse the first contact is natural. But list a second one too.
Because the situations that most need an emergency contact are often the ones where you're both at the same sceneIn case you are in the same car accident or emergency, your primary contact won't be reachable at the same time.
For the second, name a friend or relative who lives nearby rather than parents back in Taiwan (between the time difference and the distance, they can't practically help).
Schools need special handling
If you have children, the school's lists come in layers: emergency contact, authorized pickup, medical authorization.
A step-parent does not automatically hold any of theseIf your spouse isn't the child's legal parent, make sure to actively add them to the authorized list and ask what documentation the school requires. Otherwise, if something comes up and you send your spouse to pick up your child, the school won't release them.
A five-minute approach
Open the notes app on your phone, list every service you'll use this month (your credit card statement is the best possible list), and change all the emergency contacts in one sitting. Most can be done online.
Since you are already logged in, update the names on your various accounts while you're at it (see item 66 of the checklist).
In one line
Zero cost, five minutes, but list a second contact, because when it matters most you may both be at the same scene.