I switched over a lot of my privacy services to Proton this year and am going through the process of updating my “in case of death” documents for my partner. This is meant for my partner if I for some reason die suddenly.
I was wondering how others handle this?
Currently I have a printed out sheet with my Master Password and other instructions on how to access my password manager so that they can get into all my other accounts. That along with other important physical documents is kept in a fireproof safe (the safe is meant more for environmental dangers such as a fire, then something like theft).
I made a similar document a while ago.
I wanted my family to be able to access everything should I meet my demise.
However, they are not really tech-oriented, and I don’t know if your partner is either.
So my main advice would be to make it as simple as possible without relying on an external website that could lock you out for one reason or another (website offline, account locked/hacked, etc…)
I ended up going with a Keepass vault containing my passwords as well as my 2FA, stored onto multiple devices, and stored the passphrase safely somewhere only me and my close relatives knew about.
Then I made a PDF that contains a list of all of my accounts, and provides every step of how to unlock the Keepass vault (with screenshots) to make it as easy as possible for them.
That plus a copy of every important document was the best way I personally found to pass down this kind of info.
Truth be told I don’t see a better way to handle this while staying private, I made this decision a while ago and fortunately it hasn’t come up quite yet.
Edit: As to where to store all of this, I provided the safe file and encrypted documents to 2 other family members (but without the passphrase), however that may not be ideal depending on how you get along with your family.
Yeah, same. I am confident that they would be able to get into my password manager with some instruction and after that it should be relatively easy. They use Dashlane for work so they have experience with password managers.
Did you happen to make / use a template you could share?
This exists and might be a worthwhile starting point. Ente is also working on some sort of ‘Legacy’ app/service, but details are extremely sparse / basically non-existent at the moment.
I’m thinking of preparing something like this, but it’s mainly for deleting all of my accounts. I’d like them to have my photos and after that, they should just delete any accounts I have (social media, bitwarden, this forum etc.) I don’t need (& want) to exist on the Internet after I die.
Personally I do not plan to leave behind my password manager credentials. I don’t want individuals accessing my accounts after death and I also don’t want individuals accessing my financial accounts outside of normal beneficiary and/or probate process.
What about Proton Pass vault sharing? Lifetime accounts are for sale now and would allow a user to access the vault with their own credentials. If you do not have a lifetime account you could keep sufficient funds to keep the account active for a period time of after it becomes inactive.
This I am not concerned about. My partner and I have been together long enough where our finances are intermixed and I would be leaving them in a tough spot if they could not access them.
I am brand new to Proton Pass (switched from BW at the end of October). Seems like a good option and something I will look into.
I don’t particularly want to buy a Lifetime Pass as I already pay for Pass+ through my the Unlimited Plan and Proton does not offer any discounts if you have Lifetime Pass and a bundle with Pass+, so you effectively pay for it twice.
I think part of why I want to have a note is to leave some context about what subscriptions might be good to keep active in the short term after my passing.
I have shared a file (we’re both using the same cloud subscription) with all the bank / pension / life insurance / investment account info (no password or anything - it basically just says “speak to this bank”).
I made her a Bitwarden account and set this as the recovery account for mine (possible with Bitwarden Premium). So that means if I die / disappear / lose my memory, she can request access to that account and if I don’t react within 90 days or so she’ll get access. The only problem is that I’m not super sure she’ll remember her own password!
Crypto seeds on paper in our safe. She hasn’t got a clue what cryptocurrencies are but it’s not huge amounts anyway if the seeds get lost.
I think the easiest way to deal with this (knowing what password managers are and how they work etc.) is by having a partner who’s tech-savy, but I guess this isn’t an option for you guys
You could use Bitwarden’s paid Emergency Access with someone you trust to manage your accounts. S/he just has to create an account on the same Bitwarden instance as you
That is what I used to use but I have switched over to Pass+ as it made more sense financially to use the Proton Unlimited plan instead of multiple services to cover those things.
Pass+ doesn’t seem to have an emergency plan. Although there is vault sharing as @difficult_reindeer pointed out.
Probably not worth bumping the thread, but at the risk of being off-topic I’ll do it anyway:
With Proton you can also add credits to the account without having access to the account. If a user is incapacitated or otherwise not available, a friend or family member can add credits to keep the account available and active at renewal - provided the user was subscribed to a paid plan.
To keep everything including real estate out of probate put named POD/TOD beneficiaries on everything.
If your state allows them file a real estate transfer on death deed with each county in which the property exists.
Therefore, I expect a death certificate, proof of ID and the Will to be everything my executor will need to work down the list of agencies and instututions.
My attorney has a binder to guide my executor. It contains no login credentials or any other secrets. Its important to keep everything as simple as possible. Dont make them follow a treasure map or solve any riddles and
do NOT make your plan dependent on ANY form of “Deadman’s switch”
It’s also important to explicitly spell out the things nobody should be looking for or worrying about.
For instance:
No debts, liens, judgements, back taxes or any other claims against the estate.
No ex-wives.
No bastard children.
No pension, life insurance policies or annuities.
No one has ever been authorized to transact in my name.
There are no other copies of the Will.
No rented storage lockers, bank deposit or PO boxes.
Nothing of importance is delivered via the USPS.
Nothing is buried in the yard, hidden in the garage, attic, crawlspace, paint cans, wall or taped to the bottom of a drawer etc…
