What are you doing for digital estate planning?

Submitted ⁨⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨WhatsHerBucket@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

I heard a number of stories of people passing away, and their loved ones have to figure out how to navigate their digital “estate”. Things like email credentials, bank accounts, crypto wallets, logins for personal devices, etc. For example, I have a good friend whose husband passed away unexpectedly, and she couldn’t get Apple to unlock his laptop for months, until she provided a death certificate and jumped through additional hoops.

I fell down a rabbit hole of checklists, methods, and technology, and was curious what other people were doing to leave digital assets behind. I’m looking for something that will be privacy-oriented, but still provide access to people who may not be very tech-savvy.

What do other people do? Especially from a technology perspective?

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funkycarrot@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨4⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
This is more of a logistical problem than a technology problem, so anything you set up will stand or fall based on how much effort you put into communicating with your loved ones.

That said, Ente locker might be a good tool. Should be easy to use and a hundred entries are free.

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Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
I have a notebook stashed that has all my accounts and passwords. Told the hubs about it. Should be enough, I dont make accounts willy nilly, so what is important is logged so if I drop dead tomorrow my family can have access without too much stress. It really seems like the simplest way, for my simple accounts. I dont know my lemmy password though haha. I ever lose this device, it’s just gonna be dead.

My father died the begining of this year, getting his passwords was a nightmare. Side note, the fucker was on 4chan. gross.

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ccunning@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Password manager with a recovery phrase tied to an elaborate world wide scavenger hunt

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- WhatsHerBucket@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  
  elaborate world wide scavenger hunt
  
  This has been a serious consideration. My family travels any possible chance they get. :D
  
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swordgeek@lemmy.ca ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Passwords are in Keepass. My son knows the software because he uses it. The master password is written down as part of my estate planning. That will provide access to every account needed to my successors.

I have a second password store with all of my questionable content. Not going to pass that on to the family. Let it all die horribly.

Still need to move local sketchy content to an encrypted volume, without recording a password to access it. Probably this winter. I want to be ready to die by spring.

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GreenKnight23@lemmy.world ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I have a deadman switch that will activate a worm that will simultaneously devour the entire internet and trigger my house to burn down.

it’s all triggered off my pacemaker. once it pops, the fun just stops.

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- swordgeek@lemmy.ca ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Aside from your house, you’ve given me great incentive to hunt you down and kill you. 🙃
  
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  - GreenKnight23@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    every morning I look in the mirror and ask myself the question.
    
    1000004579
    
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- aramis87@fedia.io ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  What happens when you need to replace your pacemaker?
  
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  - GreenKnight23@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    1000004578
    
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  - crank0271@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    The internet is devoured a la Dune and their house burns down?
    
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dhork@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
#1 thing is to make sure all accounts have beneficiaries. Accounts should have a primary beneficiary (your spouse), and if there is the ability to make a secondary beneficiary, see if they will divide it among any children you have . This is of paramount importance.

I know someone who passed away suddenly, and did not have a beneficiary on his “play money” stock account. His widow had to go through a lot of hoops to get access to it.

From there, I am a big believer in paper. I want those statements coming to the house. I file them all, and my wife knows where I put them. If I were to go poof , I’m sure she (with a lot of help from her siblings) would make sure nothing is missing.

The Crypto is a different story, of course. When you can Be Your Own Bank, there are no beneficiaries or contingencies: it’s all keys. I have a bit of crypto in a HW wallet. But, years ago I moved some BTC to Coinbase, and it’s still there after all these years. I am thinking of moving the rest, just to make it easier for people to sell if I do go poof.

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Iconoclast@feddit.uk ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
There’s nothing in my email/computer/bank account that anyone else needs access to. When I go it all goes with me.

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- dhork@lemmy.world ⁨23⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
  
  When I go it all goes with me.
  
  Not true at all, they’re not gonna bury you with it. Your bank accounts do go through a process after you depart. In many states if you die without a will or any other instructions they go through a long processes to identify your next of kin, and if they can’t identify it then the State takes it all.
  
  You are much better off making a small will and leaving some simple instructions. If you have no relatives you trust with the money, leave it to a charity, like your local animal shelter if that’s your thing.
  
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trashcroissant@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
My uncle passed unexpectedly a few years ago. He didn’t have any family nearby so I went down with my dad to sort through his shit. This man had an entire spreadsheet with every single account username and password he had printed out. I cannot tell you how much time it saved me. He had a ton of accounts with monthly payments (mostly porn) that I was able to cancel immediately, and we were able to access all his banking stuff.

He also had a hard-drive full of meticulously organized porn, which was depressing to have to wipe to be honest because he had clearly put a lot of time and effort into it.

I dont recommend just a spreadsheet like that in your house tbh but ever since, I created a password manager with one primary password that my partner knows where to find if anything were to happen to me.

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Boozilla@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Yeah this one bothers me. My spouse is clueless about technology and our online accounts. When I did estate planning with my lawyer, they said the paperwork would grant access to everything. My spouse’s grown kids (previous marriage) are tech savvy, which helps.

I’ve thought about leaving instructions and passwords on a USB thumb drive, but that idea has a number of flaws.

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- Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Leave instructions and passwords on paper
  
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- WhatsHerBucket@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I am a little biased toward 1Password, and they have a guide that has really good points. But in the end, they say to print out their “Emergency Kit” and store it will your will/estate. So, not much better than leaving a password behind (or any other shared secret). I guess I’ll have to set up some sort of irl treasure hunt…
  
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  - ccunning@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    In case you hadn’t seen the news.
    
    I’ve been a paying customer and advocate of 1Password for over a decade but I’ve made the switch to something else.
    
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  - swordgeek@lemmy.ca ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Move to KeePass. It’s simpler in the long run, and they don’t sponsor dirtbags.
    
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ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I don’t think leaving a password around for your bank account would be legal. It’s handled by inheritance laws so my family will take my death certificate to the bank/lawyer and get the money. Same with every other contract like cell phone and internet.

Everything else stays locked. Why would I give anyone access to my phone, email or laptop? My homelab will work as long as it’s plugged in and then it will just die. Who cares?

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bizarroland@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
All my shit is locked down. Nobody else knows the passwords or codes for it. When I die, it goes with me.

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whaleross@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Nothing. I expect to be the last in my family and honestly don’t care much what happens with my estate after I’m dead. I’ve been thinking about setting up a will for the benefit of my friends and their kids but that’s about it. What little is not found by the tax office after my passing doesn’t matter. None of my accounts no longer matter. Maybe I should ask for someone to remove any identifiable trace of me online though I don’t really know why anybody should be bothered. In less than a hundred years nobody will know I have ever existed. Maybe some opinion or speck of information I’ve shared at some point will anonymously benefit someone in the future but that’s about it. Whatever remains of me online is just digital dust in the crevices of the information highway that nobody will care to examine anyway. And I’m perfectly fine with it.

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Hello_there@fedia.io ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Consider how much you want your family or kids looking at your browser history

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- andrewta@lemmy.world ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  My browser history is fine for most teenagers. The other stuff i use incognito mode.
  
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  - Hello_there@fedia.io ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    An idea: leave a note on the desktop in some obvious location with your message to them
    
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SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Everything encrypted except pirated media on external drives. All personal data encrypted so if i die people are locked out of personal files and will have to wipe the drives to make them usable. Finally if they don’t use linux they might be out of luck with those external drives with media, too.

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RoddyStiggs@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
oh my god fuck this life

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SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Eh, I won’t worry about that while my parents are still alive. More worried about me having to handle all their stuff.

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AskewLord@piefed.social ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
just wipe it all.

no interest in accessing anyone’s online accounts. that shit it is weird.

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- swordgeek@lemmy.ca ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Just went through probate on my mom’s estate.
  
  PLEASE leave information for any accounts that require payment or involve finances. Utilities, bank accounts, mortgage payments, insurance, internet bills, whatever. Don’t make anyone have to hunt that shit down, it can easily take a year.
  
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- WhatsHerBucket@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Lol… Go to the bank? In my horse and carriage? Not many people physically go to the bank these days, at least where I live. My closest branch is about 200 miles from me, so that’s not going to happen.
  
  And no, nobody will care what I listened to. But my kid will certainly care about how to access what little money I have left. If he can’t log into my accounts to see who I even bank with, or know where to look, that’s a huge problem. I’m hoping to make his life easier.
  
  You are also sadly mistaken if you really think “you don’t need account access for the important stuff”.
  
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communism@lemmy.ml ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
There are contingency plans for all my digital responsibilities (ie things other people rely upon that need someone to maintain them). For everything else, ie digital assets that only I use, I don’t care what happens to them when I die, on account of being dead and unable to care about anything.

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- WhatsHerBucket@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Can you share any details of what those contingency plans look like?
  
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