26 ms·

Ask HN: What do you put in a “in case of death” file?

• TheAlchemist 3y ago
  I don't know. But your post just made me feel a bit uneasy - in a good way. thanks.
  • cjohnson318 3y ago
    Hey, no worries. It's good to sit down and review something like this once a year. Especially if you've got kiddos.
    • a_e_k 3y ago
      I went over some of this with my wife earlier this year. She was a bit concerned about why I was bringing it up, but it was only because I'd already dragged half of this stuff out to review while preparing our tax return. :-)
• keernan 3y ago
  whodunit
• ano-ther 3y ago
  Good list. I would add: - All contracts and how to reach the counterparty (esp. insurance, subscriptions, phone, water, power) - Instructions on things that you take care of regularly so your partner isn’t aware of the details
• a_e_k 3y ago
  - Investment accounts and stock plan accounts - 401(k)s, IRAs, etc. - 529s - SSNs
• ENGNR 3y ago
  Probably covered by passwords but.. - 2 factor seed phrases. Combined with a password manager and a list of services you use could be quite convenient - Maybe also the answers to silly questions like ‘first pets name’ - list of professionals you use, like accountant, financial advisor, lawyer, psychologist - list of people you’ve lost touch with but hold in high regard, so they don’t have to think too much about who to contact in case they want to come up the funeral
• lorax 3y ago
  I don't think I would create a file like this. It is a lot of sensitive information that I wouldn't want on my computer, and, how would I be sure it was found if when needed? I would take all of the the things you listed (and what others have listed) and put them in a safe or fire-resistant box then give a sealed envelope to whoever is going to be the executor of your estate with information about how to find and access the box.
  • Spooky23 3y ago
    This. Key thing: do not put in a safe deposit box at a bank. Those are sealed once the bank determines that you’re dead.
    • idlewords 3y ago
      Safest thing to do is tattoo it on the inside of your cheek
      • _Algernon_ 3y ago
        Only if you kill the tattoo artist after.
        • lionkor 3y ago
          Sounds a lot easier than properly securing my home network
      • activiation 3y ago
        I heard that tattoos inside your mouth don't last super long, not sure if it's true though.
      • lorax 3y ago
        Only if you trust your dentist (or your proctologist, depending on which cheek you were referring to).
        • 3y ago
• xupybd 3y ago
  I print this all out. I don't trust a file on a computer that can be hacked. I also have qr codes with my ssh keys.
  • trevcanhuman 3y ago
    Better yet, don't even write it in a computer, make it hand-written.
    • justsomehnguy 3y ago
      You want to make it easier for people, not harder.
• OkayPhysicist 3y ago
  All of this stuff is important to have available for your loved ones, but I wouldn't recommend storing it all digitally in one place. It's just a recipe for a really, really hard to unscrew identity theft. Instead, keep a copy of each of those things in your safe deposit box at the bank, and the stuff most important immediately following your demise in a firesafe.
  • NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
    No, do not use a safe deposit box for this. It will be inaccessible as soon as you're dead. Also, don't put your will among these things; your will will be required beforehand, so you'll want to file it directly with your attorney, family, or a close friend.
• TRiG_Ireland 3y ago
  Après moi, le déluge.
  • extasia 3y ago
    Before me, the rain? What does this mean? Sorry, I don't speak French..
    • Aachen 3y ago
      My mom says "na mij de zondvloed", and Dutch has a tendency to loan from French (invasions and all that), and "après" is after iirc and "deluge" means a lot of rain in English right? So I guess it means what my mom says: "after me, the huge flood", or whatever that biblical story's rain/flood was called, the one where Noah got a ship with every type of animal to eat^W, ahem, rescue More loosely translated: I don't care what comes after me I'm sure GP's next of kin will be very pleased with them... but yeah it's the mode most people operate in. Short term gains, long term scorched earth (My mom doesn't mean that seriously, more of a saying she uses in specific cases like about what happens to the house. Basically saying she doesn't care about a particular physical property or so.)
      • extasia 3y ago
        "after me, the flood" it's a quote from King Louis the 15th apparently.
• Berniek 3y ago
  Power of attorney- no real help, you are dead. Depending on your country.... When you die your estate "owns" everything and only your estate can operate it. But any property in joint names AUTOMATICALLY becomes the property of the joint owner and IS NOT subject to any restrictions What???? In most jurisdictions, the law says the executor of your will can operate on the will, its contents etc, but there are strict legal requirements and it is NOT automatic. A court usually has to OK it. In Australia it is a probate court. It takes several weeks to make sure the will in question is the real and most recent. As a general case, the courts allow the estate to pay for things like funerals etc. If there is no will then someone has to apply to the courts for administration. Your "next of kin" is a Hollywood dramatization and in Australia has absolutely no actual power to do anything. Usually the "next of kin" will actually do the organizing to inform the executor (if the executor doesn't know) So the important things to put in your "In case of Death file" Location of will Name of Executor Burial insurance details (if you have any) Location of a secondary file for the executor with email account and website account passwords, Bank Account details, Insurance policy details Location of a secondary file for the executor with email account and website account passwords, in short everything the executor needs. I also have a document containing the "order of my life" This is how I have organized my life. Whose name the cars/boat/golf buggy is in, what insurance companies, Utility companies for power water and services, clubs I am members of, things like roadside assistance etc. How I buy and sell my equities and shares, who I am paying hush money to and who is blackmailing me from porn hub. Basically all the minor things I do in everyday life. If you are uncomfortable with this topic, if nothing else investigate an "Enduring Power of Attorney" (it may be called something else in your jurisdiction). This expires with your death but it allows the holder to make medical and other decisions should you become unable to make decisions for yourself (dementia, coma, stroke accidents that leave you in a vegetative stake) (In Australia a spouse has that right automatically but if your spouse is unable to make that decision (died in the same accident, has dementia etc) then you NEED an Enduring Power of Attorney). Your children do not have the right and your executor in the future can take legal action against them) This is way more important than a "in case of death file"
  • Berniek 3y ago
    I know the post above was long, but I must mention the contents come from personal experience. One thing I found, sadly, was that people I love and trust including family often become greedy and grasping when there is inheritance at stake. Bear that in mind when you make a list with access details to things like bank accounts. You may not believe it but that is what will happen to your family. I like to think it is a reaction to grief, rather than an innate selfishness.
• predictabl3 3y ago
  I have screenshots of the pages where I've designated beneficiaries of my tradfi accounts with non-trivial money, just in case. My parents and brother have an envelope containing instructions on:Bwhere my private "pass" repo is hosted, my yubikey pin, the name of the entry containing my bip39 key, and a list of coins to activate in ledger that contain balances. Luckily my ex-teacher, non-techy brother is more into crypto than me and will know what to do.
• whartung 3y ago
  You probably don’t need a list of passwords for most of these. It certainly helps to have a list of institutions you have accounts with, but you don’t necessarily even have to list actual account numbers. The simple truth is that people die everyday and dealing with this stuff is normal for most any institution of note. All you really need is a Will and an executor or administrator. A death certificate and set of Letters of Administration will open many doors typically locked. Combine with a name, DOB, and SSN, there are departments that deal with all this. Will Apple and Google open up with these documents? I can’t say with any specificity. But I imagine so. But even so, this is why you want a list institutions. In the old days, wait a month or a quarter and you’d likely as not get paper statements or bills from open accounts. With a lot of paperless things today, without access to email, it makes discovery more difficult. So, a list of accounts and your email password in an envelope may be all you need. The estate process will likely deal with everything else.
  • schemescape 3y ago
    > Will Apple and Google open up with these documents? I can’t say with any specificity. But I imagine so. Not sure about Google/Apple, but I think Microsoft will not provide access to accounts of deceased owners unless required by law (Germany and China, apparently?): https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/accessing-outlook-com-onedrive-and-other-microsoft-services-when-someone-has-died-ebbd2860-917e-4b39-9913-212362da6b2f https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/accessing-outlook... Better to share resources prior to death for those accounts, I guess?
    • toomuchtodo 3y ago
      Google and Apple support legacy contacts to facilitate transferring ownership of digital accounts. Life is easier for those you leave behind if you set that up now. https://support.google.com/accounts/troubleshooter/6357590?hl=en https://support.google.com/accounts/troubleshooter/6357590?h... https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212360 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212360
      • deleted 3y ago
• susiecambria 3y ago
  I'd add draft obit or death notice and funeral/memorial/celebration of life wishes. Maybe a note of the number of death certificates to get. My dad had three-ring binders for each member of the family with the info you listed plus some which others did, including obit info. He also created a list of things to do in order. The list and binder were both very helpful. I imagine if I hadn't been over it with him multiple times over the years that it would have been a lifesaver.
• jrflowers 3y ago
  A printed copy of every single script from Frasier with a small handful of phrases changed. An empty thumb drive.
• toomuchtodo 3y ago
  Options agreements and, if a private equity shareholder, contact information for a trusted attorney or fiduciary you’ve previously contracted with who can execute a transaction with as favorable terms possible for unsophisticated next of kin.
• kmoser 3y ago
  "I know this may be an awkward time, but do you recall him ever mentioning source code?" https://imgur.com/3saWbLH https://imgur.com/3saWbLH
  • shigawire 3y ago
    This was posted here a while ago and related https://www.inputmag.com/features/tropetrainer-thomas-buchler-torah-software https://www.inputmag.com/features/tropetrainer-thomas-buchle...
• gurchik 3y ago
  Being survived by my spouse is one of my greatest fears. I have an "in case of death" file and my spouse knows where to get it. I don't find your list helpful in my case though. Mine is a lot simpler: 1. A list of all our financial accounts (checking, savings, retirement, etc) and bills. My spouse already has access to all these, but I handle all the day-to-day finances so it would be easy to forget a particular account or bill exists. 2. Phone numbers, URLs, and policy numbers for my life insurance policies. 3. Information about our internet and our off-site backups. Along with complicated networking equipment, I am self-hosting some software like DNS that could cause the home wifi to stop working if it's not maintained properly. I have instructions on how to unplug it all and set up an off-the-shelf router. 4. Instructions on how to get "In Case of Emergency" access to my password manager. I don't think this is necessary but might make a few things easier. 5. Personal advice on getting help and not withdrawing from family during the grieving process Outside of this, I also have Google Inactivity Manager set up to automatically notify close friends if both me and my spouse pass away. While I'm guessing the police would notify our family somehow, my parents don't have contact information on my closest friends.
  • abdulhaq 3y ago
    > Being survived by my spouse is one of my greatest fears Interesting, one of my greatest fears is my wife dying before me
    • bertylicious 3y ago
      Technically the same could still be the greatest fear of parent, but that wouldn't be relevant in the given context.
    • gurchik 3y ago
      I don't know, I'm still in my 20s, maybe my mind will change as I get older. Today if I had to choose between my spouse grieving or the other way around I'd rather it be me.
  • f_allwein 3y ago
    > Google Inactivity Manager Interesting, did not know about this. I think there’s no good solution yet on how to be notified if an acquaintance (not close friend or family member) dies. It used to be death notices in the local newspaper, but that’s out because my acquaintances live in so many different places. Does anyone have experience with Google Inactivity Manager?
• kjs3 3y ago
  Delete my browser history. Don't look at it.
• idlewords 3y ago
  Instructions for wiping Pinboard. I plan to be mourned!
• retrocryptid 3y ago
  I have a card for a mortuary service I've prepaid for. In theory they ship my body to the mortuary from anywhere in the world, supposedly. It's worth looking into, I think. Keep a copy of the card in your wallet and a copy of the policy in the "upon my demise" folder.
  • bluGill 3y ago
    This is good only of your life is setteled. If you are young you might transfer and start a new life. If you live in Florida for the last 50 years of life, nobody will want to travel to California for your funeral.
    • retrocryptid 3y ago
      I'm not sure I'll care people from California won't want to visit my family plot in Florida. I'll be dead.
      • bluGill 3y ago
        This isn't about you, it is about those who remember you. Your funeral isn't where they are so they don't get to go. If they would visit your grave, they have to make a special trip. At least i'm not aware of a religion that offers you reason to care. I leave figuring that to the reader.
        • retrocryptid 3y ago
          If it isn't about me, then they can pay for my funeral.
• raincom 3y ago
  To avoid the probate crap, add beneficiaries to your IRA/bank accounts/stock brokers accounts. Trusts that don't own any properties are useless. Just transfer real estate and land to trusts asap. Even though it is true that trusts save one from the probate headache, lawyers want 10 percent for dissolving and/or administering trusts. One doesn't need lawyers to dissolve/administer trusts; if you are a trustee, better familiar yourself with dissolution of trusts.
  • retrocryptid 3y ago
    +1. My brother and sister in law weren't thinking about that while she was in hospice and it was a major pita afterwards.
  • JumpCrisscross 3y ago
    Shouldn’t those accounts be in your trust, not natural, name?
    • raincom 3y ago
      It is always about reducing the number of steps, and the cost associated with such processes, in order to pass down to beneficiaries both movable (chattel) and immovable (real) assets. Dissolution of a trust is tricky, unless you've been through it yourself earlier. By adding beneficiaries to one's bank accounts/IRA accounts/retirement accounts, one just need to present a certified death certificate to the relevant financial institution to get those stocks/bonds/cash. Even for homes, one doesn't need a will, nor a trust. Just make it "community property with a right of survivorship". What if both spouses die in some accident? A fix: joint tenancy with kids. Again, this creates a host of problems: what if a kid owes a lot of money to creditors? What if a kid files for bankruptcy? So, joint tenancy with kids is NOT recommended in such scenarios.
      • H8crilA 3y ago
        Wait, I don't follow (also I'm not American). Can't you just write a will in which you decide how the assets are split in % terms? Or perhaps that's what creates the "trust"?
• retrocryptid 3y ago
  And for giggles I put a copy of my "How to Disarm A W88 Thermonuclear Warhead" manual in my death-file.
• kjs3 3y ago
  If you have a partner (any kind), talk to them regularly about these things, especially finances. I'm now of an age where people passing is normal and regular, and I can't tell you how many times I've heard things like "[my partner] pays all the bills...I have no idea what bills we have" and "[my partner] takes care of that...I have no idea what I need to do". Even if you have a spreadsheet for them to stumble upon that lists accounts, that might not tell them things like "what's a normal payment and what's weird" or "this creditor is squirrelly so make sure you pay close attention to them". Or one I had recently: "I didn't know we got a discount on the lawn service because my partner gave the guy a case of beer when he came". Don't just leave this to a folder full of documents on a computer for them to try and interpret post mortem. Make sure everyone understands what the real situation is and what needs to be taken care of.
• Accujack 3y ago
  "Please delete my browser history."
• ghuntley 3y ago
  See https://ghuntley.com/death https://ghuntley.com/death
  • pabs3 3y ago
    Re website archiving, the archive.org SavePageNow interface is kind of tedious for saving entire sites. So you may want to link to ArchiveTeam's ArchiveBot too, which archives full sites (and outlinks) in one job. Also, ArchiveBot grabbed your site in 2022. https://wiki.archiveteam.org/index.php/ArchiveBot https://wiki.archiveteam.org/index.php/ArchiveBot https://archive.fart.website/archivebot/viewer/domain/ghuntley.com https://archive.fart.website/archivebot/viewer/domain/ghuntl... https://archive.fart.website/archivebot/viewer/job/7qlsy https://archive.fart.website/archivebot/viewer/job/7qlsy
  • gammalost 3y ago
    It is a bit weird to drag your ex-wife and old friends in a public "in case of death".
    • connorgurney 3y ago
      There’s bitter and then there’s whatever the fuck I just read.
• no_butterscotch 3y ago
  This was interesting, I haven't thought of this, I usually always say "yes" for ethical reasons: > organ donor? > Nope[1], I have ethical concerns related to duty of care and doctors pressuring for organs. It's my preference to remove the need for family members to have these conversations by opting out. > [1] If my children or their children need organs, please harvest away.
  • justsomehnguy 3y ago
    Just a casual egoism ('I object, but if my children...')
    • jlnho 3y ago
      It's okay to be egoistic.
      • justsomehnguy 3y ago
        It's okay to be egoistic, it's not okay to attach 'ethical concerns' and immediately throw them out for your special cases. At this points it's just a hypocrisy.
• throwaway41029 3y ago
  [dead]
• solalf 3y ago
  Not on the “practical” side but not seeing anyone mention this here. This is a highly emotional time. I would add a personal letter for your spouse, children, surviving parents etc… Something to remind them how much you love them and that you’re grateful to have shared your life with them. Or whatever words fit.
  • OJFord 3y ago
    I wouldn't, they're trying to sort your crap out, not stumble face first into something emotional. Keep it matter of fact, avoid prose/actual sentences written out the way you would and prefer bullet points ('safe deposit box #123 at Acme SDBs' not 'I have a safe deposit box, number 123, at Acme SDBs containing ...'), not handwritten, etc. IMO.
    • michaelsalim 3y ago
      Nothing stopping you from having both. I'd have one document like you said and another just for letters.
      • OJFord 3y ago
        Yes I'm not saying don't leave a message telling people you care about so, I just don't personally think it belongs with this 'admin' stuff. I'd find it an unwelcome reminder of them the person, and it would make dealing with it all a lot more challenging. When I moved a while ago there was one box (large moving box) that I didn't unpack for years because I knew it had such a reminder in. (Turned out it wasn't in there after all, but still.)
        • DennisP 3y ago
          One possibility: on the typed list in the unemotional fact box, include an item saying where to find the personal messages.
    • krisoft 3y ago
      > I wouldn't I would. And I would also like to receive such if I am the one sorting someone’s life through. > they're trying to sort your crap out, not stumble face first into something emotional You are freshly dead. If they cared about you they are already dealing with strong emotions. They are not going to “stumble face first into something emotional”. Everything about the experience, including every single bureucratic form is going to remind them of you, which going to remind them that you are dead, which is going to be painfull. What do you want them to think in that setting? If there is something you would like to say to them in that moment, maybe you should think in the now if you are living your current days the best way to communicate that thing both with words and actions. But even if you do that you should maybe consider writing a letter reinforcing your message to them. Why? Experiencing the death of a loved one is stressfull. The time leading up to it can be even more so. If you died suddenly then because of that. If you suffered and fought for long then because of that. Maybe you had some argument with your loved ones just before your death? Maybe you haven’t had a proper chance to say good bye? Even if you live your life the best there is a chance for something random and unpleasant to mar the last memories with your loved ones. If you leave them a letter that can help them with their pain, and give you a chance to articulate one last time the things you want them to know. I understand that you are aiming to spare your relations from emotional anguish so they can better concentrate on whatever task is at hand. It is I believe comming from a place of caring. And there is something to it. Maybe separate the emotional last message from the official stuff? Put it in a separate envelope and make it clear who it is adressed and that it is a last message? And then they can decide when to read it. Maybe they want to read it first and then cry for a few days and then get stuff in order? Or maybe they need to mourn you before they are ready to read it and mourn you even more? Or maybe they will never read it, and that is fine too? But they have at least the option if they want to. Now I assume you are a lovely person and you have lovely loving relationship with your closed ones. So don’t take this personally. But if i would get the last box from some relative and there is a bunch of car keys with no personal note… i might think they cared about their car more than me. Of course this is context dependent and the context is the relationship as it was lived.
• flimflamm 3y ago
  Organ donation will
  • rapjr9 3y ago
    Maybe also instructions and money for an autopsy. Your relatives may cringe, but it could help them later in their lives to know what shape you were in and what you died of.
• oaiey 3y ago
  Aside of that this file should be offline: - your wishes as a patient (how do you want to die) ... It could happen you cannot express that anymore and someone has to make a decision. This will make that easier. - give access before death (eg to banking accounts). So much easier than dealing with shitty processes - if possible reduce your assets to money. It is no help to have a valuable comic collection which ends up on a yard sale or for the wrong price sold or it takes endless to sell. - clarify the situation with everyone in the family so they do not fight over it - generally keep your documents in order and sort out old stuff. You never know which files are needed - write your medical history - keep your will simple. - get your digital life in order and keep it simple (photos on a hard disk, folder structure etc)
  • bluGill 3y ago
    If you enjoy that comic collection then keep it. Instead make sure they know where such collections are sold. Maybe note who the comic collectors club is and appoint them to sell (they get 10% of value for their efforts or some such) Also, if you are wealthy enough consider giving it to someone less wealthy in the club who will enjoy it.
• seanhunter 3y ago
  I am currently dealing with my father's estate and I can say that deeds etc will not be useful. It's really easy for your spouse/executor/whoever to access anything like that if need be with a letter with a copy of the death cert and will. A list of your accounts, life insurance, pension policies etc would on the other hand be very useful, so they know who to write to. I just had to sort through 300 pages or so of stuff going back 30+ years to try to figure this out. The most useful things you can do are: - Make an expression of wishes to tell your pension/life insurance provider what to do with your money. This might be a UK thing, but here your pension does not form part of your estate and therefore isn't governed by your will. So if you die without filling out this BS little form, the trustees of the pension can in theory divide up your pension in a way you don't like. Even if you have filled out an expression of wishes they can do this but it's more susceptible to legal challenge if they do. - If you are married or in a similar long-term partnership with someone, put as much of your finances as possible into joint accounts and in particular have your regular bill payments etc work through a joint account. Your bank will freeze any individual accounts until the probate is granted and your family can be left in a difficult position of trying to figure out what all the bills are that are going to fail to pay because your account has been frozen and they have no access. Them having your online passwords won't help because the online access will be shut off. - Put an emergency fund into a savings account that your spouse/child whatever can access. Ideally enough for your dependents to live on for a couple of months plus handle a couple of chunky bills. It can be one of those savings accounts that only allows one access per year or something but they need to be able to get their hands on this cash quick. We're just setting this up for our child after seeing how it played out for my Dad. Say you have one child and you and your spouse suddenly die in a car cash or something. Believe it or not your accounts (including all joint accounts) will be instantly frozen and there will be a period before matters get resolved when your child will have no access to money at all. There are ways around this predicament but you wouldn't want to put your families through that if they're already dealing with the fact of your death as well.
  • scarface_74 3y ago
    > Put an emergency fund into a savings account that your spouse/child whatever can access. I’m my parents only child. My parents put my name on one of their accounts with enough money to handle their expenses and bills for a few months while everything went through probate.
• mongol 3y ago
  Another kind of file could be : "if I am wrongly imprisoned in an oppressive dictatorship" The difference is that I don't know how you can access your money in a situation like this. Can a file help here?
  • jstummbillig 3y ago
    You could certainly make all kind of files. Dying creates a solid ven overlap between "will happen" and "good to be prepared for" for all people. Your scenario really only applies to the tiniest amount of people and is probably only worth your time to think about, if you have special insight into why that's probably you.
    • mongol 3y ago
      Yeah the likelyhood it happens to me is tiny indeed. But it happens to some people and I have wondered how they get access to their money to pay for lawyers etc.
  • Aachen 3y ago
    At that point you could just generalise it to "in case of emergency". Being able to access your stuff while you're in a coma for three months is a similar situation but one might not want to or be allowed to open the oppressive dictatorship file you mentioned. Also, it strikes me as an odd thing to prepare for. You planning on visiting North Korea, or are involved in things that look very illegal but are secretly actually fine and it would take months to talk your way to a point where you can communicate with your loved ones?!
  • myself248 3y ago
    Deviant Ollam recently did a talk covering this, entitled "lawyer, passport, locksmith, gun. a talk about risk and preparedness". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ihrGNGesfI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ihrGNGesfI I don't have a tl;dr, but it's worth an hour of your time.
• mrweasel 3y ago
  Most of the things you list aren't physical copies anymore, or at least the physical version holds little value. It may depend on where you live, but as soon as you're registred as dead, most things will get handled automatically, more or less. Copies of keys and a list of accounts and passwords might be a good idea. It took two years for people to stop wishing a deceased friend of mine happy birthday on Facebook every year. The issue I see is: Here would you put such a file? In a safe... where would you put the combination? You need somewhere that will be release to next of kin, or some trusted part at after death... So a safety deposit box is a good option, so no need to put the keys to that in there. One really important thing: If you're married, ensure that your spouse have an account in their name, and their name only. The bank will freeze all shared accounts until everything has been sorted, leaving your spouse without access to debit cards and funds in general.
• spiffytech 3y ago
  Good list! I'll add: - People to notify of your death. You may have online friends who won't have any way to know why you've disappeared. And for tech enthusiasts: - If you host something like a blog or side project that you think people would still find useful after your death, list someone who can keep it online, and any relevant hosting information. - If you maintain popular open source software, make sure you aren't the only one who can upload to npm etc., or update the official website.
• lcordier 3y ago
  This was on HN a year back. https://github.com/christophercalm/if-im-gone https://github.com/christophercalm/if-im-gone
• lannisterstark 3y ago
  For slightly tech related EOL file: https://github.com/potatoqualitee/eol-dr https://github.com/potatoqualitee/eol-dr
• LeonB 3y ago
  It’s important to make sure your wishes are known regarding vengeance. Unlike Banquo from Macbeth, as you lay dying, you may not get a chance to shout: “O treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! Thou may’st revenge – O slave!” - and importantly be sure to leave a list of who your enemies are, to give the detectives a starting point.
  • LeonB 3y ago
    They say: before you embark on a mission of revenge, better dig two graves. They haven’t seen my list. They’d want to dig twelve, maybe nineteen.
  • GTP 3y ago
    > and importantly be sure to leave a list of who your enemies are, to give the detectives a starting point. This advice seems to apply only to a minority of people that have enemies that might consider killing them and have the resources to do it without leaving much evidence behind. I don't think this would apply to the average person.
    • LeonB 3y ago
      What you’re indirectly highlighting is that the dominant asymmetry is the difference between the risk of having not thought about it and the cost of having thought about it and found no problem. The average person - the median - has little cost in asking this question - but for the minority it applies to, it has a very large cost if not asked. Imagine a helpful insurance policy. “Most” people wouldn’t benefit from it. Fine. Those that do would make up for it on intensity of bentit.
    • LeonB 3y ago
      ^^ Obvious Assassin.
• ninesnines 3y ago
  Its good to also just make a living will - how you want to die, who your medical proxies are, what kind of care you want!
• BrandoElFollito 3y ago
  Ah, a post about my "Book of Doom" :) There are plenty of good ideas already, I will add mine. My wife will be devastated when I die and she is not the kind of "business oriented" person. So I rely on my best friend to help her, as well on my children who will then be young adults (even if it happens tomorrow). My friend has access to basically everything I own and he could make terrible things, but I could trust him with my life - I think it is rare to have someone you can completely trust (even though he lives 1200 km away). I use Bitwarden to keep all my passwords and secure notes. Most of the passwords are in the "family" section so everyone has access no matter if I am alive or not. Since this is a self-hosted system, I need to dump the passwords from time to time and print this out, just in case. I need to do this today :) My friend above called me one day to say "hey, I cannot get to your bank account". To what I said "WTF dude??". To what he said that he is doing a DRP (Disaster Recovery Plan) test and one of the passwords changed.... So: test your stuff. I automated a lot of things at home, they usually work 70% of the time :) I realize that there is no way someone can maintain this after my death so I added a "how to dumb down the house" section that describes what can be removed. I am still investigating the email part. I currently use my own domains and Google Workspace (grandfathered). I think I will be better off switching to fastmail so that what remains of my family can have a single point of contact. I also need to find a way to manage the domains. Money: my wife is not very good with it so I did a very rough excel sheet to show her how much she can spend to comfortably live her life going on. This is more in the "recomforting" section but this will probably help. I specifically did not put any nostalgia-inducing elements because this is not the right place for that - she need to be able to read it like a tax report. One word about the death itself. I am a (fervent :)) atheist and never wondered too much about death but, like everyone, this was not my favorite philosophical topic :) Then I had an operation that required a total anesthesia. This is when I stopped worrying about death - the kind of "switch off" you experience then was eye opening.
  • lnsru 3y ago
    Don’t trust friends! Unless they know, that you hired some killers Walther White style to check if your friends comply to your will. There were bad happenings with friends previously in the family. Friends suddenly wanted really fat share after the family member died.
• ineedausername 3y ago
  a hashcode
• DueDilligence 3y ago
  [dead]
• yodsanklai 3y ago
  When my parents died, I found all these documents quite easily. But nowadays, some of this is 100% digital, in particular some retirement funds from the various countries where I worked. Even I would need a bit of work to dig into this.
• rvba 3y ago
  Passwords for games where you have items - which can e worth a lot. Like those hats, or skins, or items. Whole accounts can be sold too for legacy skins, or game collection. A big list what bills have to be paid, to whom, by when, with estimated amounts, adrrsses, telephone numbers, bank account numbers. Your social security number. Information if some of your personal belongings (e.g. books, toys) are worth something to collectors. Wifi password Actual list of people who you want invited to the funeral. If you get a phone with 500 contacts it is hard to say. Information what type of grave you want, what religion. Someone technically savy needs access to phone (including being able to pay the bills in thr future) + main email account to unlock things.
• beefield 3y ago
  I have occasionally thought that someone should make a "death app". An app that would have all kind of stuff you should do because you die one day. Not just a check list (which would be a good start), but you actually would be able to write your will, make organ donation contracts (or whatever they are), store information for the chosen ones after you die etc. Could also remind you that it's so long since you donated blood that might be time again. Feel free to steal this startup idea. I'm afraid there might be some hurdles marketing this - and also localization can be a challenge.
  • langsoul-com 3y ago
    Now that sorta sounds like what "smart" contracts were supposed to be in block chain. Though, this kinda sounds like what a lawyer and will is supposed to do
  • tsbischof 3y ago
    A friend of mine founded a company in this space (https://www.joincake.com/ https://www.joincake.com/). From what I know it is more on the side of helping you build your own solution, rather than delivering all of the technical aspects. The technical integration would be some significant effort to work out: do you need to run a credential management service? Can you get away with just having account recovery codes, specifying beneficiaries for specific accounts, etc? At first glance it feels like a massive amount of integration work would be needed
• nathias 3y ago
  I have nothing so I don't really need the file, nor do I particularly care about what happens after I die.
• jamesgill 3y ago
  I’ve written a ‘what to do upon my death’ checklist with some explanatory instructions for my family. What to first and when, where to find things, contacts, reiteration of cremation vs. burial, etc. I have a ‘fire resistant’ case for…fire, but I also put relevant death documents there. So, my wife can just grab that case. And trust me: Get a legal will, no matter what state laws you live under. Cheap, quick, easy. Other than that, it depends a lot on your situation—married, kids, amount of possessions, special requests, etc.
• Just_A_NBR 3y ago
  I've been using https://getyourshittogether.org/ https://getyourshittogether.org/ in the latest version is pretty darn good for at least taking things into consideration.