Frequently Asked Questions

AmberLetters is a guided document organizer that helps you record everything your family will need when you're gone - financial accounts, property, wishes, and personal letters - all in one secure place. When you're finished, you can generate a beautifully formatted PDF to share with loved ones or your estate attorney.

Anyone who wants to be prepared and spare their family unnecessary stress. Most people who use AmberLetters are adults with a spouse, children, or property - but it's valuable at any age. The sooner you start, the more complete your document becomes.

No. AmberLetters is a personal organization and communication tool - not a legal document. It does not replace a will, trust, or power of attorney. Think of it as the companion document that lives alongside your legal paperwork: the one that tells your family where everything is, what you wanted, and what you want them to know.

That said, AmberLetters is an ideal first step before getting a will done. Estate attorneys bill by the hour. Walking into that meeting with your accounts, assets, contacts, beneficiaries, and wishes already gathered and organized can save you one to two hours of billable time right out of the gate - and make the whole process faster and less stressful.

A will is a legal instrument that distributes your assets after death. AmberLetters is the human side of that process - account numbers, passwords, wishes for your memorial service, and personal letters to the people you love. Many attorneys recommend keeping exactly this kind of companion document alongside a will. AmberLetters makes it easy to create one.

Many people use AmberLetters as the first phase of their estate planning. Before you sit down with an attorney, you need to know what you own, who your beneficiaries are, and what your wishes are. AmberLetters walks you through all of it in a guided, organized way - so when you do meet with an attorney, you show up prepared instead of scrambling. That preparation can save real money on attorney fees and get your will done faster.

Yes. Your document is private to you — no one else can view it. We don't sell your data, share it with third parties, or use it for advertising. Your information is encrypted in transit and stored securely. You control who receives the final PDF.

Only you, until you choose to share it. When you generate your PDF, you download it directly to your device. You decide who gets a copy — whether that's a family member, your attorney, or a trusted friend you've designated as your Document Co-Keeper.

You have full control. Sensitive fields — like the SSN field — include a "I'll write this in by hand" toggle. When checked, that field is never stored on our servers and prints as a blank write-in line in your PDF instead. The Final Reveals chapter (safe combinations, hidden valuables, password hints) works differently: those fields are never transmitted to or stored on AmberLetters servers under any circumstances. They always appear as blank write-in lines in your PDF for you to fill in by hand after printing.

Yes. The Generate page includes an option to permanently erase all stored chapter data from our servers once you've downloaded your PDF. Your account stays active and your purchase remains valid — you can re-enter information and generate again at any time. The erasure is permanent and irreversible, so we ask you to confirm you have your PDF before proceeding.

Never. This is a permanent design decision, not a setting. The account directory in Your Digital Life lists services and usernames only. Your PDF prints a blank line next to each account for you to handwrite the password on your physical copy. The same applies to the Final Reveals chapter — nothing in that chapter is ever stored online.

You work through ten guided chapters - covering everything from your identity and finances to your wishes and personal letters. Each chapter saves when you click Save, and you can return anytime. When you're ready, generate a PDF in either a warm Keepsake style or a clean Attorney format. You can update and regenerate as many times as you like.

Not at all. Your progress saves as you go. You can fill in one chapter today, come back to another next week, and revisit it anytime your circumstances change - a new account, a new property, a letter you want to add. Most people build their document over several sessions.

The ten chapters are: About You (identity & biography), Your Legacy (values, life lessons, family traditions, and stories worth keeping), Your People (family & contacts), Your Money (accounts & debts), Your Property (real estate, vehicles & inventory), Your Digital Life (online accounts & digital wishes), Your Wishes (funeral, medical directives & final requests), Your Keepsakes (sentimental items, pets, and who gets what), Your Letters (personal farewell letters), and Notes for Your Attorney. Together they form a complete letter of instruction — everything a family or estate attorney would need. The Keepsake PDF also includes a private Final Reveals appendix — safe combinations, hidden valuables, and password hints — printed as blank lines you fill in by hand after printing. Nothing in that section is ever stored online.

AmberLetters generates three distinct documents from your answers. The Keepsake uses warm amber tones and elegant typography - a document your family will treasure. The Letter of Instruction is a clear, practical guide for your executor: accounts, contacts, assets, and wishes in one place. The Attorney Ready is a clean, formal document structured for estate attorneys and financial professionals, with a table of contents and labeled sections.

A letter of instruction (sometimes called a personal instruction letter, family love letter, side letter, or side memorandum) is a plain-language document that tells your family or executor exactly what to do - and where to find everything - after you pass. Unlike a will, it doesn't require an attorney to prepare and isn't legally binding, but it's often more useful in those first difficult weeks. It covers bank accounts, digital logins, funeral wishes, pet care, contacts to notify, and much more. AmberLetters generates a professionally formatted Letter of Instruction PDF directly from your guided document.

It's also one of the best things you can do before getting a will. Estate attorneys often ask new clients to gather exactly this kind of information before their first meeting - accounts, assets, family details, and wishes. AmberLetters does that work for you, so you arrive organized, informed, and ready. The result is less time in the attorney's office and a lower bill.

Yes - the Your Keepsakes chapter includes a dedicated Pets section where you can add one entry per pet. For each pet you can record their name, species, breed, age, vet information, medical needs, care instructions, who should take them, and any funds set aside for their care. This information prints in both the Keepsake PDF (for family) and the Letter of Instruction PDF (for whoever is managing your affairs).

Trial (Free) - create an account, fill in all ten chapters, and save your progress with no credit card required. Upgrade anytime when you're ready to generate your PDFs.

Essential ($24) - full access to all ten guided chapters, three PDF outputs (Keepsake, Letter of Instruction, and Attorney Ready), personal letters to loved ones, and a typed account directory for your digital life.

Complete ($36) - everything in Essential, plus an extended property inventory with item-by-item detail, appraisal fields, provenance and condition tracking, and photo upload per item - ideal if you have significant property to document.

Heirloom ($89) - everything in Complete, plus a beautiful physical organizer box for your records, certificates, and photos; your printed document; Through the Years keepsake journal; a Keepsake Interview Book - all shipped to your door.

Yes - the Trial tier is completely free. Create an account, fill in all ten chapters, and save your progress with no credit card required. When you're ready to download your finished PDFs, simply upgrade to Essential, Complete, or Heirloom. Your saved data carries over instantly.

Yes. Your saved chapter data carries over when you upgrade - nothing is lost. You simply gain access to the additional features of the higher plan.

No. You pay once — no subscription, no annual renewal, no hidden fees. You can update and regenerate your document as many times as you like for as long as the service is running. And because you download your PDF directly to your device, your document is yours to keep regardless — even if anything ever changed with AmberLetters.

The Heirloom tier includes a beautifully designed document organizer box along with Through the Years - a Keepsake Interview Book. The box is designed to hold your printed AmberLetters document, certificates, photos, and meaningful papers in one place. It ships with your printed document already inside. A thoughtful keepsake for yourself - or a meaningful gift for someone you love.

Orders are typically fulfilled and shipped within 5–7 business days. You'll receive a notification once your order is on its way.

AmberLetters works in any modern web browser on desktop, tablet, or mobile. Your document is stored securely in the cloud and accessible from any device you log in to.

Yes - after generating your PDF, you can print it at home, at a print shop, or upload it to a print-on-demand service. If you'd prefer we handle the printing and binding for you, contact us through the site and we can arrange it.