The Documents Drawer

Somewhere in the house — a filing cabinet, a kitchen drawer, a cardboard box in a closet — there is a collection of documents that belongs to your parent. Some of it is organized. Most of it isn’t.

Maybe you’ve opened that drawer a few times. Pulled out a folder, looked at it, put it back. The paperwork is real and specific — power of attorney, health care proxy, insurance cards, advance directives, account numbers — and the task can feel enormous before it’s even begun.