Here's the comment that I attached to that (It's one that a friend of mine wrote up).
It's quite long, so I will not repeat it, here, but I think it's pretty useful. It was written by someone that has had quite a few health issues, and for whom, this is not an academic exercise.
Ok. Assuming you don't trust systems of law or for whatever reason prefer systems of tech I guess this works. Got to admit though, it feels less like a cheat sheet and more like being delegated a bunch of paperwork. I was hoping for something a bit less pedestrian than bank accounts and mortgages. My personal "in case of imminent nuclear war draft email to everyone" is about all the personal projects I'm not going to be able to finish myself anymore so here's some code for whoever wants to pick it up. Sure, my version also arguably hands unfinished work to people, but at least its more interesting work than "please go stand in line at the bank on my behalf." Its certainly a better way to remember me than "here's a few words, now pass the shovel."
>My personal "in case of imminent nuclear war draft email to everyone"
I think you've misunderstood the purpose of this work. It's not about the end of the world, it's about the end of you and making the transition for the ones you love as easy as possible.
I understood it just fine. An "imminent catastrophe" draft is really just an "end of me" draft without the automation needed to handle the "no warning" case.
On the one hand, you started this conversation certain that I was the one with a reading comprehension problem. On the other hand, you ended it calling me a loathsome narcissist. So on balance...
My Dad passed away with no will and no instructions on what he actually had and where things were. This would have saved us an incredible amount of time and pain right after losing him.
Same. Though Lastpass' ability to request a trusted user's passwords (with a configurable amount of time to deny the request) obviates a lot for my wife if I were to pass.
I think that's a great use case. I have something similar set up with a deadmans switch in Gmail. I don't want people to have to go on a hunt and have to hack into my gear while mourning like we did. No fun.
These aren't exclusive. If you're going to write a "just in case" document supplementary to your will, it can have whatever useful things certain people will need to know AND whatever interesting works you want them to remember you by.
Is there a more precise link to an article related to the topic? What I see is a website inviting to read about Mothers day or Father's day and to buy a book with different name.
Disability companies will absolutely lie and mislead you. They will say they will call all your doctors and get what they need. They will not.
They will not return your call even if you call twice a day for months on end.
So if you are injured be prepared to quickly get a lawyer.
Fwiw private pay individual disability has a much better reputation than employer pay group policies. If you're healthy and young it's an excellent hedge against a life changing event.
There is a legal process in the US for leaving behind an estate, a trust, or a will. This repo is not going to work except as notes for things which really should be in one of those legal workflows anyway.
Definitely need the legal documents/etc. all properly done. But the legal docs aren't always going to have details on how to connect a new device to the wifi network or how the router is setup, regular tasks/maintenance schedules, etc. It's basically a way of communicating mundane information that isn't important enough for legal docs but can be a significant hindrance to someone if a person is no longer around.
I also look at repos/documents like this more of a way to provide a checklist and for passing information on that often isn't captured in the legal documents that make it easier to perform or access things. For example, the information on logging into a password manager, how to use a backup code (or the 2FA if possible) could prevent having to go through the courts to gain access (and some of the more code-first policies may even prevent other users from gaining access without the proper credentials even if a company wants to help - not even talking about things like crypto where it could just be totally lost without the encryption password).
Many elders in my immigrant family have passed, but because my family has a distrust of lawyers and the legal system, we've managed to never receive this benefit.
You don't need a high-priced attorney to get the step-up in basis.
It's up to you to report the basis on capital assets that you sell. You do that on your tax return.
For assets you inherited, the basis is the asset's value on the date the decedent died.
For stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. in a brokerage account, that's pretty easy because daily closing prices are published. For real estate you should get a professional appraisal.
But none of this requires the "legal system" or a lawyer.
Yes & No. The first thing to know is that guidelines may vary by state.
The second is that things like signed witnesses are greatly preferred and generally required to grant a will automatic legitimacy, but not strictly required for a will to hold up in court [1], and then only if the will is challenged anyway.
An unwitnessed[2] will of this sort is usually termed a hollographic will. Most states recognize these, most other states will recognize them if they were created in a state that does so. Such a will has to clearly express the intent to act as such based on its language and it has to be clear that it came from the deceased. Traditionally that would mean handwritten but courts are slowly adapting to the digital age-- they key thing is the ability to attribute authorship to the deceased.
Even putting all of that aside, just about any document from the deceased attesting to the deceased wishes can be used as an instrument for disposing of an estate, at least so long as it doesn't conflict with any other document that meets that state's probate requirements as a will.
In short, if beneficiaries agree on the issue then all is generally fine no matter the document. If they don't, the courts have to settle things and they give preference first to witnessed documents but make an honest effort to adhere to the wishes of the deceased as expressed in other ways. (Even witnessed speech acts by the deceased are admissable)
[1] source: a close relative practices family law and deals with this type of mess all of the time, even when they're the one that made the will & organized its signing and witnessing.
[2] "Witness" has a legal definition which itself may vary by jurisdiction by it usually included a requirement to sign the document, not merely be present to attest to things at some later point. (Notarization is a good idea as well but generally not required)
We have a trust, will, living will, medical directives, etc prepared by an attorney who specializes in estates. However, in addition to that I have a document for my wife which lists the passwords, locations and any other details for all the things I primarily handle such as servers, routers, email/cloud accounts, home automation, security cams, etc. The document is on a USB drive in our shared safe as well as printed out.
My wife is extremely intelligent, capable and has an MBA so I have no doubt she could figure things out in my absence. The goal of the doc is just to make things easier for her if I unexpectedly get hit by a proverbial truck. It's now been a few years and I've been surprised how the document slowly creeps out of date over time one item at a time. So, now I've picked a once a year date when I update it.
I created this doc when a couple we know went through a sudden death. They had wisely prepared in all the legal paperwork and typical financial docs but after the initial shock, mourning and recovery, I saw how the more mundane stuff like household IT, backup servers, home automation, etc was still a pain for the surviving spouse.
I was able to help him figure things out because I had physical access and our departed friend had done things in logically organized ways but it was still yet another thing to deal with. What I didn't fully appreciate until I saw it up close is just much unavoidable stuff is thrown at someone going through this in the first couple months. It quickly becomes overwhelming because it's all at once and at a time when they are emotionally nuked and understandably functioning at reduced capacity.
It's good to have easily-findable records of your assets, but the more important thing is to actually have the operative documents of a will and powers of attorney. Having a list of assets and debts doesn't help much if you still have to go to court and get a guardianship if you have a stroke.
My wife died unexpectedly a year ago. A little before that I had set her up with a 1Password account and she had diligently moved all her details into it. She shared her master password with me.
It was an incredible lifesaver in the first few months. Everything was really easy to get in order, and anything that wasn't well documented, I could find in her laptop or inbox.
I'm so glad that she did it, and it saved us so much headache.
Banking and such things are the easy bit, they've got streamlined and established bereavement processes. It's all the other small stuff that's hard, like loyalty cards, airmiles, gym memberships etc that causes the headaches.
After Covid I kept going back to the idea of building something simple for my wife ( not the most technical user ever and I hate updating stuff manually ), but it remains an unfinished project at this time.
Its not like there is a lot, but passwords and some contacts do change and I want to be able to pass all relevant details should anything major happen.
I have most of my data in self-hosted systems, so there's no central authority to provide access if something happens to me. I've been pondering a system that could transfer control/release information to my wife if something happens to me.
One of the problems with secured paper storage of this sort of thing is keeping it updated. A lot of this stuff won't stay accurate forever. But obviously digital storage can be a huge risk.
- My password for bitwarden and the MFA codes. This is in addition to the fact that we share important logins with the family
- List of banks to contact
- List of people to contact in the office to get information about insurance, bonuses etc.
- Information about where the important papers are
- A description of how to de-automate my house
My wife has a copy, and do does my best friend. He surprised me messy year when he told me he could not access my bank account. When I asked him WTF, he said that he is doing a DRP test :) And he find a flaw.
People ask me if I am depressed when I tell them about that. For me this is a natural thing to do to help those left behind.
35 comments
[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 78.5 ms ] threadhttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31748553 (495 points | 16 days ago | 189 comments)
It's quite long, so I will not repeat it, here, but I think it's pretty useful. It was written by someone that has had quite a few health issues, and for whom, this is not an academic exercise.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31752778
I think you've misunderstood the purpose of this work. It's not about the end of the world, it's about the end of you and making the transition for the ones you love as easy as possible.
Personally I prefer https://getyourshittogether.org
I came to comment that the OP linked git hub checklist is quite low effort.
I highly suggest to contact an estate planner and / or use the Nolo published Guides and website -
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/wills-trusts-estates
Otherwise you risk anything you wrote be invalidated and ineffective when you need these documents the most.
So if you are injured be prepared to quickly get a lawyer.
So I couldn’t comprehend any of the paperwork. By the time I recovered enough to do anything it was too late to go after them.
I should have just let a lawyer deal with it and not worried about the 25% lifetime income fee.
If I'm in a coma I want my partner to be able to access my bank information and important documents without going through a legal process.
I also look at repos/documents like this more of a way to provide a checklist and for passing information on that often isn't captured in the legal documents that make it easier to perform or access things. For example, the information on logging into a password manager, how to use a backup code (or the 2FA if possible) could prevent having to go through the courts to gain access (and some of the more code-first policies may even prevent other users from gaining access without the proper credentials even if a company wants to help - not even talking about things like crypto where it could just be totally lost without the encryption password).
> Step-up in basis refers to the adjustment in the cost basis of an inherited asset to its fair market value on the date of the decedent's death.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/stepupinbasis.asp
Many elders in my immigrant family have passed, but because my family has a distrust of lawyers and the legal system, we've managed to never receive this benefit.
It's up to you to report the basis on capital assets that you sell. You do that on your tax return.
For assets you inherited, the basis is the asset's value on the date the decedent died.
For stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. in a brokerage account, that's pretty easy because daily closing prices are published. For real estate you should get a professional appraisal.
But none of this requires the "legal system" or a lawyer.
The second is that things like signed witnesses are greatly preferred and generally required to grant a will automatic legitimacy, but not strictly required for a will to hold up in court [1], and then only if the will is challenged anyway.
An unwitnessed[2] will of this sort is usually termed a hollographic will. Most states recognize these, most other states will recognize them if they were created in a state that does so. Such a will has to clearly express the intent to act as such based on its language and it has to be clear that it came from the deceased. Traditionally that would mean handwritten but courts are slowly adapting to the digital age-- they key thing is the ability to attribute authorship to the deceased.
Even putting all of that aside, just about any document from the deceased attesting to the deceased wishes can be used as an instrument for disposing of an estate, at least so long as it doesn't conflict with any other document that meets that state's probate requirements as a will.
In short, if beneficiaries agree on the issue then all is generally fine no matter the document. If they don't, the courts have to settle things and they give preference first to witnessed documents but make an honest effort to adhere to the wishes of the deceased as expressed in other ways. (Even witnessed speech acts by the deceased are admissable)
[1] source: a close relative practices family law and deals with this type of mess all of the time, even when they're the one that made the will & organized its signing and witnessing.
[2] "Witness" has a legal definition which itself may vary by jurisdiction by it usually included a requirement to sign the document, not merely be present to attest to things at some later point. (Notarization is a good idea as well but generally not required)
My wife is extremely intelligent, capable and has an MBA so I have no doubt she could figure things out in my absence. The goal of the doc is just to make things easier for her if I unexpectedly get hit by a proverbial truck. It's now been a few years and I've been surprised how the document slowly creeps out of date over time one item at a time. So, now I've picked a once a year date when I update it.
I created this doc when a couple we know went through a sudden death. They had wisely prepared in all the legal paperwork and typical financial docs but after the initial shock, mourning and recovery, I saw how the more mundane stuff like household IT, backup servers, home automation, etc was still a pain for the surviving spouse.
I was able to help him figure things out because I had physical access and our departed friend had done things in logically organized ways but it was still yet another thing to deal with. What I didn't fully appreciate until I saw it up close is just much unavoidable stuff is thrown at someone going through this in the first couple months. It quickly becomes overwhelming because it's all at once and at a time when they are emotionally nuked and understandably functioning at reduced capacity.
Right now for me someone would have to just morosely rifle through all my belongings
Get a lawyer and do real estate planning, in either case.
It was an incredible lifesaver in the first few months. Everything was really easy to get in order, and anything that wasn't well documented, I could find in her laptop or inbox.
I'm so glad that she did it, and it saved us so much headache.
Banking and such things are the easy bit, they've got streamlined and established bereavement processes. It's all the other small stuff that's hard, like loyalty cards, airmiles, gym memberships etc that causes the headaches.
Its not like there is a lot, but passwords and some contacts do change and I want to be able to pass all relevant details should anything major happen.
One of the problems with secured paper storage of this sort of thing is keeping it updated. A lot of this stuff won't stay accurate forever. But obviously digital storage can be a huge risk.
- My password for bitwarden and the MFA codes. This is in addition to the fact that we share important logins with the family
- List of banks to contact
- List of people to contact in the office to get information about insurance, bonuses etc.
- Information about where the important papers are
- A description of how to de-automate my house
My wife has a copy, and do does my best friend. He surprised me messy year when he told me he could not access my bank account. When I asked him WTF, he said that he is doing a DRP test :) And he find a flaw.
People ask me if I am depressed when I tell them about that. For me this is a natural thing to do to help those left behind.