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(Archived) What happens when I die?


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I've been wondering: is there any clause or method in place to allow us, the Evernote account owners, to legally have our account access released to a single entity, who then requests it with official documentation, in case of our death?

In my view, Evernote may be the most important asset I have online. It holds all my thoughts, noted feelings, goals, secret info, important info, and more. I'm trying things with it daily to improve almost every aspect of my life. It has all the information I think is important to my life. I would really like to have my Evernote account and all such information shared with one single entity (person or other) when I die. I read the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy, and couldn't find anything on this.

I know one way is to share my account login information with anyone I want right now, though I want to treat this kind of like a will and see if Evernote has something legal like this in place or may put a legal clause in somewhere to handle such things when they happen.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks! :)

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I don't know, but I'd think the executor of the will would be able to get login credentials (after providing supporting documentation.) There's probably not an option if you die without a will.

Also, Evernote may be a place to store all your information about life insurance policies, what you'd like done with your remains, etc. (Assuming the person(s) responsible had access to the notes - maybe a shared notebook?.)

I do have a tag "When Mother dies" for things I need to refer to when my mom passes away, including poems she or I like & what she wants done with her remains. I've even included a couple of audio files where I recorded her saying what she wanted done. That way, if anyone gets mad, I've got it in my mom's own words. :)

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  • Level 5*

I thought this was going to be a philosophical thread, I'm a little disappointed.

Like all your online accounts that may contain information that you want to share after your death you need to share your logins somehow, probably the easiest place is in your will.

My view is worm food, probably.

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  • Level 5

My wife has my LastPass master password in her LastPass acount as a secure note.

Likewise, I have her master password in mine.

And in case we are in an accident together, each of my two adult sons already have half of my rather lengthy LastPass password.

Older son (1st half of password)

Younger son (2nd half of password)

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So far:

1 : Have a will stating what I want.

2 : Have a shared notebook sharing my will and/or other life insurance (and/or death related) stuff, info, etc.

3 : Share login access via LastPass.

I don't know, but I'd think the executor of the will would be able to get login credentials (after providing supporting documentation.) There's probably not an option if you die without a will.

Also, Evernote may be a place to store all your information about life insurance policies, what you'd like done with your remains, etc. (Assuming the person(s) responsible had access to the notes - maybe a shared notebook?.)

I do have a tag "When Mother dies" for things I need to refer to when my mom passes away, including poems she or I like & what she wants done with her remains. I've even included a couple of audio files where I recorded her saying what she wanted done. That way, if anyone gets mad, I've got it in my mom's own words. :)

Thanks so much for sharing, and gives me even more ideas on what to store in Evernote. :) Very interesting how such topics are considered taboo in person in our society, yet when it comes to managing information related to it, people who look at it from an informational and acceptable perspective (or in such situations), this topic becomes something we must think about and handle like life itself.

Hadn't thought about the shared notebook for this, thanks!

I thought this was going to be a philosophical thread, I'm a little disappointed.

Like all your online accounts that may contain information that you want to share after your death you need to share your logins somehow, probably the easiest place is in your will.

My view is worm food, probably.

lol, I wrote my post originally with my thoughts on death not being taboo to me, on how topic of death should be embraced, etc and then edited it down to what you see to make it more acceptable. :)

Ok, so basically what the 2 of you are saying is to have a will to at least get started on this in the right direction: got it! Thanks.

My wife has my LastPass master password in her LastPass acount.

Likewise, I have her master password in mine.

And in case we are in an accident together, each of my two adult sons already have half of my rather lengthy LastPass password.

Older son (1st half of password)

Younger son (2nd half of password)

Brilliant. I use LastPass myself. Hmmmmm, will have to get that "someone" onto LastPass also. Thanks so much!

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My husband and I know each other's passwords, but he doesn't know where all the *accounts* are. As we've started to get our Will together, I've actually started to collect all of our accounts and that information into a centralized location, and send to those account facilities the required paperwork for access by a designated third party (should my husband and I perish at the same time, someone else needs to be able to access our stuff.)

We have had one person that I am aware of since we started Evernote that needed to access the account of a deceased member. They actually *had* the password and username to enter the account, but they contacted us anyway to inform us of the "ownership transfer", after providing a copy of the death certificate, and then asked for a username change.

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Thanks Heather, that's good to know.

By "centralized location", do you mean Evernote, something like Evernote, or something completely different?

Making the Will, enhancing the shared notebook and LastPass is what I've to do then.

I've never done a will before, so have to Google to find out how it's done through a lawyer and online. I ran into some online sites a year or two ago that allowed you to do all your will making online. Have to find them again!

Thanks again so much!

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  • Level 5

I used my family lawyer for our wills when the children were young.

Now that they are grown up and on their own, I use Legal Zoom to keep our wills updated.

https://www.legalzoo...yzkCjCBy%20cbkk

By the way, the advantage of 2 LastPass accounts (for my wife and myself) is that neither of us need to be aware of any password changes.

All we need to know is the master password which is securely stored in LastPass.

So if I make several password changes today, my wife will still be able to access all of new passwords.

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I used my family lawyer for our wills when the children were young.

Now that they are grown up and on their own, I use Legal Zoom to keep our wills updated.

https://www.legalzoo...yzkCjCBy%20cbkk

By the way, the advantage of 2 LastPass accounts (for my wife and myself) is that neither of us need to be aware of any password changes.

All we need to know is the master password which is securely stored in LastPass.

So if I make several password changes today, my wife will still be able to access all of new passwords.

Thanks so much for that link! Looking at it now and will probably end up using that unless I can find something better.

By LastPass master password, I'm assuming your actual LastPass login password that you use to log into LastPass itself, correct? (just making sure there isn't some Master Password sharing feature in LastPass that I've missed)

JB, are you using the imminent "due date" feature in your death planning? :)

(I'm sorry)

:) This may sound strange, but I would definitely put a due date (or year) on such areas for myself in Evernote.

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  • Level 5

Thanks so much for that link! Looking at it now and will probably end up using that unless I can find something better.

By LastPass master password, I'm assuming your actual LastPass login password that you use to log into LastPass itself, correct? (just making sure there isn't some Master Password sharing feature in LastPass that I've missed)

Yes, all I need to remember is my own LastPass login password.

I created a Secure Note in my account and added my wife's LastPass login password.

There are some other more advanced methods with LastPass, but this is easy for me and it is secure.

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  • Level 5*

I've been Executor in a couple of estates, and apart from the sadness of going through someone's papers there's always the frustration of finding account numbers that don't seem to tie in with what you know, and the general difficulty of unravelling someone else's personal and financial affairs from scattered files and correspondence. (Plus financial institutions that find it strangely difficult to find documentation even when you know it exists somewhere... )

While you understand completely why you do things a certain way, and where all the relevant papers are, if you're not around to explain the Master Plan someone new is going to have an interesting time putting it all back together. It would be a good idea for all of us to keep one LOCAL notebook with all the account information, insurance policies, deeds and shares listed for our next of kin (in a well-encrypted file) so that tying up all the loose ends takes the minimum time.

I'm sure there is software / are websites around that will ask you all the necessary questions about accounts, investments, property, shares and insurance but I'd guess they are probably too specialised to keep up to date easily - and I'm not going to put this detailed information anywhere it might be at risk.

Not sure that Evernote is the ideal place either - but I'm just suggesting; make sure your affairs are fully documented somewhere (no, not that sort of affair) to give whoever sorts out your estate the best chance of an easy time...

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Yes, all I need to remember is my own LastPass login password.

I created a Secure Note in my account and added my wife's LastPass login password.

There are some other more advanced methods with LastPass, but this is easy for me and it is secure.

Thanks, really appreciate the advice! :)

I've been Executor in a couple of estates, and apart from the sadness of going through someone's papers there's always the frustration of finding account numbers that don't seem to tie in with what you know, and the general difficulty of unravelling someone else's personal and financial affairs from scattered files and correspondence. (Plus financial institutions that find it strangely difficult to find documentation even when you know it exists somewhere... )

While you understand completely why you do things a certain way, and where all the relevant papers are, if you're not around to explain the Master Plan someone new is going to have an interesting time putting it all back together. It would be a good idea for all of us to keep one LOCAL notebook with all the account information, insurance policies, deeds and shares listed for our next of kin (in a well-encrypted file) so that tying up all the loose ends takes the minimum time.

I'm sure there is software / are websites around that will ask you all the necessary questions about accounts, investments, property, shares and insurance but I'd guess they are probably too specialised to keep up to date easily - and I'm not going to put this detailed information anywhere it might be at risk.

Not sure that Evernote is the ideal place either - but I'm just suggesting; make sure your affairs are fully documented somewhere (no, not that sort of affair) to give whoever sorts out your estate the best chance of an easy time...

Wow, hadn't thought that much yet. Thanks again! Will start planning and documenting something too.

I've never cared about caring about others because of my death (strange feeling), and ever since I got married I've been thinking about it regularly: that's why this is like a new territory for me (making plans for something to help/etc someone else after I die), something a concept I laughed at and opposed when I was single. :)

Thanks for all the info and advice! Whatever you all are saying is my actual blueprint at the moment.

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  • Level 5*

I was the executor for my father-in-law's estate earlier on this year and gazumped is 'dead' right. The amount of time I spent tracking down small pieces of information to allow me to move onto the next step made it seem like a rather unpleasant game show.

Doesn't matter what your status or age, it's worth making some plans.

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Skip all the legal mumbo jumbo about transferring accounts and leave your heirs with a sealed, PAPER, copy of your EN account information and possibly a print-out of all your passwords. Have a lawyer give it to them when you die or keep in a fire-proof, water-proof safe in your house.

Don't wait...DO IT RIGHT NOW!

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By "centralized location", do you mean Evernote, something like Evernote, or something completely different?

I actually keep all that information encrypted within Evernote, but by centralized location *here*, I mean I actually have it stored in a "dead file" (pun intended) in my parents' safe.

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  • 1 month later...

I saw this Lifehacker article & thought of this thread. The article is aimed at teens but could also be used by others after your death. Basically, you write your critical information on paper & put it into a piggy bank that must be broken to get the paper out. This could be the stepping stone for people who live alone b/c if you were to die, someone would need to know the combination to your safe or the location of a key to your filing cabinet or the login credentials to your computer (in order to get to all your other sensitive information that you've stored on your computer or put into your safe or filing cabinet). As long as the paper can't be removed (IE using tweezers), you could be pretty confident that no one has accessed that information. Also a possible option, if you don't feel like sharing your information before you die to keep inquisitive people from nibbing around. :P

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[OT] I just decided to declutter my life, somewhat. First step was to remove LifeHacker from Google Reader. Big help. Had turned into the occasionally interesting read, somewhat less often a useful read, but mainly a lot of rehashed stuff that I get elsewhere, along with a lot of articles that are entirely inapplicable. Gone now!

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  • Level 5*

this is a fun thread, despite the somewhat morbid topic :P

i doubt anyone will want my data, but for what it's worth, i have all of my passwords written down and stored in a safe place for access by friends and family if i should die. they know about it. i also have a will and living will. not that i have much stuff, or a terribly complicated life, but over time we accumulate things, digital and physical, and the older you get, the more important it is to do this kind of preparation.

speaking from experience, it is very unpleasant to arrange things for someone when they die suddenly, because it is tough to think and make decisions while you are grieving. after having to go through that, i decided i would spare everyone that trouble if something happened to me.

i am looking forward to the "due date" feature so that i can pick one for my death. maybe a tickler notice to be sent out to all of my friends and family :)

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  • 1 year later...

I use both LastPass and 1Password. 1Password is a great place for organizing not only logins but bank accounts, credit cards, SSNs, Drivers Licenses, software licenses, etc., etc. You can attach files to items, so my 1P database includes scans of passports, car titles, etc. There are no dedicated data templates for insurance policies and brokerage accounts (although there may be online logins), but it isn't hard to improvise. You could do much of this in LastPass, but 1Password is much easier to use, especially on the Mac.

 

My wife and I keep our 1Password keychains in our respective Dropbox accounts (this is the standard way to sync one's data across devices). There's a sealed envelope in our safe deposit box with my Dropbox login and my 1Password master password. There's another one that is supposed to have my wife's, but I've never peeked so I don't know for sure.  :)

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I saw this Lifehacker article & thought of this thread. The article is aimed at teens but could also be used by others after your death. Basically, you write your critical information on paper & put it into a piggy bank that must be broken to get the paper out. This could be the stepping stone for people who live alone b/c if you were to die, someone would need to know the combination to your safe or the location of a key to your filing cabinet or the login credentials to your computer (in order to get to all your other sensitive information that you've stored on your computer or put into your safe or filing cabinet). As long as the paper can't be removed (IE using tweezers), you could be pretty confident that no one has accessed that information. Also a possible option, if you don't feel like sharing your information before you die to keep inquisitive people from nibbing around. :P

 

I know this is old, but where exactly do you get a piggy bank that you have to break to open? Everyone that I have seen has a plug or some other device to open the bank without breaking. 

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  • Level 5

I saw this Lifehacker article & thought of this thread. The article is aimed at teens but could also be used by others after your death. Basically, you write your critical information on paper & put it into a piggy bank that must be broken to get the paper out. This could be the stepping stone for people who live alone b/c if you were to die, someone would need to know the combination to your safe or the location of a key to your filing cabinet or the login credentials to your computer (in order to get to all your other sensitive information that you've stored on your computer or put into your safe or filing cabinet). As long as the paper can't be removed (IE using tweezers), you could be pretty confident that no one has accessed that information. Also a possible option, if you don't feel like sharing your information before you die to keep inquisitive people from nibbing around. :P

 

I know this is old, but where exactly do you get a piggy bank that you have to break to open? Everyone that I have seen has a plug or some other device to open the bank without breaking. 

 

Only 10 left - better act fast.

http://www.amazon.com/PigLock-VFP104-Unbreakable-Pink-Piggy/dp/B0083UTCKS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369662105&sr=8-1&keywords=unbreakable+piggy+bank

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For the record, I have a legacy protocol for all of my digital properties.  These include plans for things like how to bring my blog to closure and what to do with my thousands of notes on Evernote.  I suspect that the legal protocol for formal transfer of these accounts would make it functionally prohibitive to see to it what I want done.  

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