Your passwords and your end of life plan

[HumbleIOughtToBe]

The reason for the call:​

Memento mori : “remember that you will die”
We all will die, and our respective families will need to continue onward. We all probably have passwords, a phone with a lot of photos

Spoiler

and files

that are not backed up, and a laptop.

I can share a great long story here about how data was taken off of my Dad’s phone by using his living, unconscious, bodies fingerprint before he is expected to die. Just take my word that it was hard.
1 Minute Version of a much longer story
The password manager was achieved through some work, the photos through a weird and indirect way since the normal way of copying did not work through reasons I do not know, and the the recipes from the app that are hard to export and not visible under a wired connection.

Call to action:​

Make this document before you expect you need it

Spoiler

, my father entered this state more than a decade before he was even thinking about retiring.

You need a document that is accessible for utility but under some security that has the following:

• Passwords to every device you own. Fingerprints will not work.
  Spoiler

  (His finger was swelling near the end of his life, without access to the man you can’t unlock the phone, some things can’t be done without a password, if you shut down the phone no fingerprint will work, and if you don’t know the password you have to constantly tap the screen so it won’t sleep.
• The password to your password manager.
• This document must be updated every time a password is changed.
• The legality of accessing the data of the near dead is something I do not know.

Also, check your Bus Factor.

Bus factor - Wikipedia

Relevance to the Family Life Category
Family Life is commonly associated with people coming into the world, and the life of young kids. Do not forget that the family comes together at the end of the life of the old. When I should die, I don’t want my family to face fears about data recovery.
Further Reading
How to Get Your Digital Accounts Ready In Case of Death | Wirecutter
https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2013/07/18/who-owns-your-data-when-youre-dead
Data ownership after death is 'a complete legal mess' | The Japan Times

 

[Minks]

I’m sorry that you’ve had to learn about these problems first-hand, @HumbleIOughtToBe. These are not only valid business issues for family and work associates, but planning ahead for them mitigates the emotional anguish for the family. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

 

[HumbleIOughtToBe]

I should mention that I hope people learn from my example about passwords and end of life plans. I did not post this to extract Heart Points and I did not post this to harvest sympathy. I do not detest to those two things, but I hope this post evokes an action of planning regarding your passwords and end of life plan.

 

[Irishmom2]

Why would anyone need my passwords that doesn’t already have them? I am confused.

 

[Joe_5859]

I guess I took it to mean that I should make sure my parents write down any passwords to accounts I might need to access after they are gone.

 

[Irishmom2]

I guess, but even then, I don’t know what I would need. Bank accounts, life insurance, all of those matters would be covered by a will or something, no? I don’t need to manage my spouses social accounts or him mine. When I am gone, I am gone.

 

[Joe_5859]

Right. I feel like access to bank accounts would be handled other ways besides accessing them online. But I do also like to be prepared. We have a password address book just because it is easier to keep track of, but it will also be helpful for when my wife or I (or both) pass away.

I suppose even for more mundane things like cancelling recurring subscriptions, it would be easier to do online, though probably not impossible to do offline once a parent or spouse has passed on. I wouldn’t necessarily know what things my parents are subscribed to. Of course, my parents are pretty skiddish about technology, so I don’t think they have many online accounts.

 

[Joe_5859]

I don’t need to manage my spouses social accounts or him mine. When I am gone, I am gone.

I noticed the other day that Facebook has actually added a place in the user settings for you to choose what happens to your account once you die—whether you want it deleted, changed to memorial status, or to have control shift to another one of your Facebook friends.

 

[ChuckB]

Why would anyone need my passwords that doesn’t already have them? I am confused.

I handle most of the financial transactions for my family. My wife has practically no interest in the nuts and bolts of how it is done. After years of nagging her about it, she has finally agreed to memorize the password to my password manager - and I test her on it every so often. If she didn’t know how to access our bank and brokerage accounts, she’d be in a world of hurt. Sure, she’d eventually get it worked out, but being able to access the accounts online would save her some really horrible headaches.

I don’t need to manage my spouses social accounts or him mine. When I am gone, I am gone.

My wife has friends from all over the world - many of whom I don’t know. It would be nice to have her social media account passwords so that I could at least log on and inform them of her passing.

 

[DarkLight]

Adding on to that:

Write down where all your accounts are in the first place! It’s going to be a lot easier on whoever manages your estate if they know what you have right away.

 

[TheLittleLady]

All of the couples I know have the passwords to the other’s passwords.

It is also possible to prove death and get assistance from the phone carrier to unlock a phone, you will have to wait until the death certificate is issued, but it is easier to just share your passwords with a family member or at the very least your attorney. We ought all, regardless of age, have someone with a durable power of attorney because death or incapacity can happen in an instant.