PLEASE don't let this happen to your family!

I read this tragic post and my heart broke:

"I joined this forum because I really need some help. My youngest son passed away a couple of weeks ago. I got his two phones and wanted to try to get any pictures, etc off of them, but they both are password protected. I was searching for some software to be able to do this..."

This is the LAST thing a grieving parent should be worried about, and it is 100% preventable. Every member of your family with a cell phone, computer, etc. should have password protection on their device: but that protection is to prevent people OUTSIDE the family from accessing those devices.

Every person in your family needs to keep an updated letter that provides ALL login credentials to EVERYTHING. Have the passwords sealed in an envelope in case of emergency.

I have a letter to my family printed out in our safe, and updated every few months: it lists every account; every login & password; every insurance policy number, phone numbers, everything! This has to be a priority for your family!

Finally, consider using a password manager with a family plan like LastPass. It's a password manager that can generate, and store, complex passwords for every website and account: safely locked in a vault behind a single master password. LastPass features an emergency mode that allows family members to access your vault if a tragic situation demands it.

I hope you & your family will take this to heart. There is too much evil out there and catastrophe could strike any of us at any moment. Make sure your family can get to your data if something happens to you... it may help authorities piece together what happened.

 

Not without your finger! But in the event of emergency, have your master password stored where they can get to it. They can use the password as an option: both on your device and the web.

 

What if you're in a wreck and your hand gets mangled? I mean,we could down this ugly rabbit hole forever... but it's really not necessary. LastPass allows for fingerprint login as a convenience: but your account is still secured with your master password. It just seems more reasonable to give your family access to the password rather than expecting them to log into your phone, in the morgue, with your dead finger. Just sayin'

 

Maybe not: which is why it's important to explain, in the letter, what accounts are what and how to close them out. We have extremely complicated lives online: commerce, financial, education and entertainment, work and hobbies.... it all has to be dealt with.

If you're doing things that you would prefer your family not know about (stop doing that! LOL), you may instruct the executor of your estate to appoint someone who doesn't even know you to close out the accounts.

My Dad died four years ago and some of his accounts didn't have anyone else's name on them... not even his wife. It was a nightmare trying to access those funds and close out the accounts. After that, the Darling Bride and I made sure we are listed as joint owners on ALL our accounts - and our son is listed as beneficiary if something happens to us both. There's no question about where our wills are, where the money is, and who gets what.