HACKER Q&A
📣 rwky

What are your contingency plans for if you died suddenly?


Probably due to a combination of the pandemic and getting older I've started thinking about what would happen to all my digital information should I suddenly die or become otherwise incapacitated for a long period. I'm the only person I know nearby that has more than just the basic technical skills, and I'd like to have my family prepared. I'm not too worried about financial assets that's what solicitors are for there's a whole business around dealing with that. I'm concerned with self hosted software, domains, emails etc. Managing email with a custom domain is no trivial task for someone that doesn't even know what a domain is. So what do other HN readers have in place for such scenarios?

  👤 epc Accepted Answer ✓
I started keeping an “In case I’m dead” file for my immediate family pre-9/11 after a close call on a flight. Basic instructions about what accounts I have and where. 20+ years and a marriage later I’ve updated things to ensure my spouse has ready access to all of our financial accounts through a shared email account. We use a 1password family account with individual accounts for both of us and a shared “vault” for all household items. There’s still a paper folder with key passwords and passphrases (eg the 1password master key for my account). I keep our domains renewed well into the future so that nothing expires suddenly while whoever is dealing with my estate. All important information is kept in our safe deposit box including a thumb drive. Can’t assume any digital media will be usable, regardless of format, so everything critical is printed.

I had to manage my parents estates in the early 2000s and my experience then was that the digital companies had very little experience or idea of how to deal with estates. Some simply asked for a copy of the letters of estate, others made it extremely difficult. Can’t imagine what the current crop of social media businesses will do.

👤 ianceicys
Simple: LastPass master password recorded in Will. Will on file with Bank with directions for mailing my last wishes and mailing a letter to my Church (service details with my pastor at my church (hymns, versus, last words).

I update letters at the end of each year to loved ones (spouse / kids / friends / parents) and I update letters at the end of each year to business contacts (have my lawyer review them as well).

iPhone now with 15.2 makes it super easy to designate a legacy contact --> https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/12/14/how-to-set-up-leg...

I also am prepaid on Office 365 for domains / email, AWS hosting / and iCloud backup (with family sharing settings) for the 3 years out. So when I pass, well then after the initial grief there's no immediate need to update anything for 24 months. Plenty of time.

"I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen

👤 briHass
I just updated my list of financial accounts/life insurance (acct number, type of account, where it held and phone number) for my wife. She's the primary beneficiary on all the accounts, so it should be straightforward to collect those funds if I die.

Do not share passwords for investments/banks. This is against TOS for most financial firms, and someone logging in to your account after you die and making changes is a big problem. Financial institutions have procedures for dealing with death and distribution to beneficiaries.

👤 vinni2
I would be dead nothing matters anymore. But that’s just me. I don’t have anyone close.