4 ms·

The value isn't in the items themselves, but in their perceived value. Especially valuable is the optionality. How would you feel if you could not have reviewe

The value isn't in the items themselves, but in their perceived value. Especially valuable is the optionality. How would you feel if you could not have reviewed your father's files? What if you couldn't access critical financial accounts or didn't know they exist?

saurik 9y ago
> What if you ... didn't know they exist? FWIW, if I really don't know that they exist, I would probably not feel anything about them ;P.
- mattnewton 9y ago
  He means you would be wondering about them, causing angst.
  - saurik 9y ago
    In which case you might as well be wondering about them already: your father might very well have a bank account in another country, or a chest of gold dubloons buried in the back yard, or a bunch of stock certificates for some company he invested in fifty years ago... you really never know!
Sangermaine 9y ago
>What if you couldn't access critical financial accounts or didn't know they exist? There are already procedures for an executor or heir to assume control of a deceased's financial accounts and assets, and part of that process is determining what accounts the deceased had.. You don't need to dig through Dad's Gmail for that. Like the first poster said, anything actually important either already has procedures in place or will be figured out in the probate process or otherwise.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- davidbanham 9y ago
  Don't you? Many people aren't great at record keeping, especially as they get older. It can often be difficult to figure out exactly what accounts and investments exist, let alone how to access them to clean them up. Trawling through browser histories and correspondence is often the only way to get a reliable picture of what's going on.
  - ams6110 9y ago
    Equifax, for as much as they are maligned, will tell you what open credit accounts the deceased person had. Last year's tax return will probably identify any significant investments, at least those that are producing income.
    - davidbanham 9y ago
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_population_percentage.png https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_population_percen... I, along with 95% of the world's population, do not live in a place where Equifax exists. Tax returns capture some things. They also don't get filed for several years sometimes. They don't capture assets like cryptocurrency or off market shares. Life is messy and death more so.
      - Sangermaine 9y ago
        >I, along with 95% of the world's population, do not live in a place where Equifax exists. But you probably do live in a place with probate laws. This isn't a new problem, and there are processes to deal with it.
      - rtx 9y ago
        You are wrong about the 95% number. They entered India few years ago.
oij82asd38 9y ago
> How would you feel if you could not have reviewed your father's files? This is subjective. My dad has zero assets, and oodles of debt. People are trying to use economics as a way to avoid uncertainty, it seems. It's like hoarders that store decades of Readers Digest. "Everything has a potential value!" fingers tips rapidly tapping against each other "Yes it's so obvious! This Beanie Baby collection is mine!" The reality is, things only have economic value if you can sell them. And they only have personal value if the people in question give a shit. There's no law of physics here.

saurik 9y ago

> What if you ... didn't know they exist? FWIW, if I really don't know that they exist, I would probably not feel anything about them ;P.

mattnewton 9y ago
He means you would be wondering about them, causing angst.
- saurik 9y ago
  In which case you might as well be wondering about them already: your father might very well have a bank account in another country, or a chest of gold dubloons buried in the back yard, or a bunch of stock certificates for some company he invested in fifty years ago... you really never know!

Sangermaine 9y ago

>What if you couldn't access critical financial accounts or didn't know they exist? There are already procedures for an executor or heir to assume control of a deceased's financial accounts and assets, and part of that process is determining what accounts the deceased had.. You don't need to dig through Dad's Gmail for that. Like the first poster said, anything actually important either already has procedures in place or will be figured out in the probate process or otherwise.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
davidbanham 9y ago
Don't you? Many people aren't great at record keeping, especially as they get older. It can often be difficult to figure out exactly what accounts and investments exist, let alone how to access them to clean them up. Trawling through browser histories and correspondence is often the only way to get a reliable picture of what's going on.
- ams6110 9y ago
  Equifax, for as much as they are maligned, will tell you what open credit accounts the deceased person had. Last year's tax return will probably identify any significant investments, at least those that are producing income.
  - davidbanham 9y ago
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_population_percentage.png https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_population_percen... I, along with 95% of the world's population, do not live in a place where Equifax exists. Tax returns capture some things. They also don't get filed for several years sometimes. They don't capture assets like cryptocurrency or off market shares. Life is messy and death more so.
    - Sangermaine 9y ago
      >I, along with 95% of the world's population, do not live in a place where Equifax exists. But you probably do live in a place with probate laws. This isn't a new problem, and there are processes to deal with it.
    - rtx 9y ago
      You are wrong about the 95% number. They entered India few years ago.

oij82asd38 9y ago

> How would you feel if you could not have reviewed your father's files? This is subjective. My dad has zero assets, and oodles of debt. People are trying to use economics as a way to avoid uncertainty, it seems. It's like hoarders that store decades of Readers Digest. "Everything has a potential value!" fingers tips rapidly tapping against each other "Yes it's so obvious! This Beanie Baby collection is mine!" The reality is, things only have economic value if you can sell them. And they only have personal value if the people in question give a shit. There's no law of physics here.