Leaving a paper trail in case I die

the_amazing_raisin

Morbid question time!

So I'd like to figure out some way to leave a map of my financial affairs for my family in case I die. My wife has a reasonably good idea of everything already, but she'll (presumably) be a bit distracted by my demise and I won't be around to remind her

My thought is to leave some documents with our solicitor with all my financial details in it (bank accounts, loans, pensions, investments) along with contact details and account numbers, etc.

Basically the idea is to make it as easy as possible for my wife and the executor of the estate to figure out where everything is and sort out my affairs

I should probably also leave a letter detailing my wishes for the estate and funeral (I'd like to be preserved and dressed as a clown and then thrown in a ditch somewhere to confuse the hell out of somebody)

Is this the right approach (the letter, not the clown outfit) and are there any additional details I should include? Are there other institutions, maybe a bank, which can hold the documents for me (in case the solicitors office burns down)?

banie01

This is a topic I've addressed personally quite recently. I've created a password-protected word.doc that I share with my wife via OneDrive. This is because there is a wealth of information besides the bare financials. The password itself is of course quite a complex one.

I have written up a House manual covering how everything works, the service providers, and the ins and outs of our home's IT and electrical set-up. Every other bit of information I can think of would be helpful to whoever is settling my affairs. The main reason for using a shared OneDrive is that as I update or change the information, it is also automatically updated on my wife's part.

I have made clear my funerary wishes to my wife and son and have left the information regarding where and how to access that manual with our solicitor too.

I do look forward to reading how others are addressing this issue, particularly with regards to digital assets and platforms.

I will be following this thread with interest.

the_amazing_raisin

That's an interesting approach, I'll probably have an online copy as well that's encrypted and shared

Better to have a few copies around in case one gets destroyed by accident

I like the idea of the manual for the house. Our house actually came with one from the builders but it's worth going through it every so often and ensuring it's updated. A "quick start" section mightn't be a bad idea either, just in case someone needs to access something in a hurry

AndrewJRenko

There's some good online resources around 'getting your affairs in order' as it is generally called. This one from the Hospice Foundation has a PDF document that you can edit to fill in all the relevant details.

https://hospicefoundation.ie/i-need-help/i-want-to-think-ahead/

If you're a civil servant, CSEAS have an MS Word version of a similar template available.

As our lives go increasingly online, ensuring that up to date passwords are available is increasingly important. I know the paid version of BitWarden allows you to nominate people to get access to your passwords after you pass on, though I haven't gone for this option myself yet.

NUTLEY BOY

OP's idea is remarkably sensible.

Be careful not to overthink it though. Whilst wishing to preserve security of documentation the interested parties need to be able to access the documents easily and promptly. You should certainly have a separate backup up just in case there is any kind of systems failure with the original. e.g. give your wife her own copy of the data and let her store that on her own system with her own password.

There is nothing worse, as an executor, than trying to hunt down relevant documentation for probate and associated needs.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120468437#Comment_120468437

Yeah I'd sort of mentally divide my affairs into two categories

Immediate concerns, like access to cash, payment of bills and funeral arrangements. My wife is fairly clued into these already but I think it's handy to have my login details somewhere secure so she can just go into my accounts and raid them as needed

Longer term concerns, these would be things like transferring assets, cancelling contracts and such. These can be dealt with over the weeks and months following my demise and the objective there is to just make life easy for the executor

I remember after my dad died I was helping my mum sort out some of his affairs. He had to be fair made sure that everything was written down and my mum was briefed on where to find everything. Even so it was a pain in the hole to go through everything, there's a lot of work involved even in the simple cases

Ironically one of the hardest things was cancelling the phone contracts. We had been renting this cordless phone from Eircom for several years (greatest scam ever created) and when I rang them up asking to cancel the contract they told me we'd have to pay €40 to keep the phone. The thing was worth about €1 so I promptly told them to f**k off and take the phone back

I think in the end it was much easier to switch provider (we were out of contract anyway) and put the bill in my mum's name

brownej

Also create a will so that you can ensure that your wishes are honoured.

As for leaving passwords for accounts, I dont think this is that necessary. Just a list of institutions you have accounts with and the types of accounts will be sufficient. They will all need to be contacted and informed of your passing with relevant death certs etc by the executor of your estate or legal representative. They have processes for dealing with this sort of thing but it takes time. If you have investments with American institutions like fidelity etc for things like company shares, these can be difficult to deal with as their documentation expectation is American and they are not necessarily familiar with the irish probate process.

Your "estate" can pay for the funeral and funeral homes are usually very good at giving you time to pay. When my husband died two years ago I remember I had to nag the funeral home for a final bill and payment details. They were happy to wait for the money, I just wanted it done and paid for.

Your wife cant actually go raid your accounts willy nilly after you've passed either. All your assets pass to your estate, to be then divided up based on inheritance rules or your will or both. Your estate can pay for things related to your death. When you are writing your will, talk to your solicitor about the best way to address accessing cash for household expenses. A joint account may be the option there.

Also open an account with a credit union. They usually have a death benefit payment. Free money and all that.

It is definitely good to prepare for these things and have access set-up. In my experience companies that want money from you (service providers etc) will gladly just update account and payment details to keep the money flowing. Companies that hold assets and money are much trickier to deal with.

Another thing to consider is things like health insurance. If you have employer provided health insurance that covers dependents this will cease on the date of death. No grace period no nothing. In my experience, my husband got a nice letter from the insurance company 6 weeks after his death saying how sorry they were to lose him as a customer and that he should consider them again in the future.

AndrewJRenko

I don't think many CUs do a separate death benefit now. Most will cancel any outstanding loan balance, and some have good deals on a death benefit / life insurance. But not really a 'money for nothing' scenario.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120468721#Comment_120468721

Thanks for the info, and good point regarding the bank accounts. We manage almost all our finances jointly anyway and she's got her own income

Wills are already taken care of so in a legal sense there shouldn't be any issues

I've also got her setup as beneficiary for my various pensions and life insurance for when I die

It's probably a sign of her patience that she knows this and hasn't decided to off me 😂

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120468821#Comment_120468821

Mine still gives (up to) 3k depending on age and how much you have in your shares account; but its basically arranged to give 750 max to anyone over 65. Still write off loans if you're under 85.

If you don't have much in a shares account, or use them as a current account bank, what is given is tiny/nothing.

Hotblack Desiato

My wife only rejoined the workforce last year after being out of it for 12 years (kids). It occurred to me a few years back that she'd be fairly screwed if anything happened to me as there'd be no income coming into the house except child benefit, all our savings were in the credit union in my name and we have no joint accounts. (We had had a joint savings account with Rabobank but they closed.)

So she opened an account solely in her name with the local credit union (I'm with a work one) and we split our savings 50:50 between the credit unions. So there's immediate access to cash there if anything happens to either of us. We have life insurance, death in service benefit in my job, etc. but all of those things take time to access - not as long as probate but far from immediate either.

Claw Hammer

The trouble with joint accounts is the spouse could run off with your money.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515710#Comment_120515710

I would say if you're concerned about that then you have bigger problems than worrying about a paper trail

FishOnABike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120515710#Comment_120515710

Not only that if the account has an overdraft facility or is a credit card account they could run off with money you don't even have.

spurious

A joint account, rather than an account with two cards on it, would allow your widow to access funds easily. She doesn't need to be worrying about bank accounts being locked once you die.

My father died following an elective procedure but beforehand he had assembled everything in an envelope - instructions regarding who to contact about his pension being switched, 'offers' from the credit union and trade union in the event of his death, things like eflow accounts that might not immediately come to mind, etc..

Andrea B.

A good staring point is phone and Google PW.

If using biometric fingerprint, they should ask undertaker for the finger.

So much stuff uses two factor authentication etc, which if one has phone and Gmail access, it covers potential of lost or changed PW for other stuff.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120526304#Comment_120526304

Decent fingerprint sensors will not work on a dead finger. Nor will an undertaker give you body parts!

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120526321#Comment_120526321

This is why you should tick the organ donor card 😉

Hotblack Desiato

Now I have a mental image of bereaved spouse at a wake holding a phone over the open coffin trying to unlock it with face recognition 😮

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120527525#Comment_120527525

Or testing each of the deceased fingers against the reader and trying to remember which fingerprint they used 😂

Andrea B.

Well, I was tongue in cheek on the finger. Hence phone pin and Google PW, a great start.

trashcan

In case you die OP ? Hate to break it to ya .............🤪

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120529133#Comment_120529133

Finger in cheek? 😉

Google actually has the option to set a recovery email account. You can set this to your spouse's email and they'll be able to reset your password and access your account

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120529164#Comment_120529164

Haha, good point, unfortunately I can't edit the title now 😁

Perhaps in case I die suddenly would be a better title

trashcan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120529349#Comment_120529349

Ah, I knew what you meant, just couldn’t help myself . The devil made me do it 😀

Senature

One thing many don't consider is digital access. Photos, videos etc are mostly stored on the cloud now and hold decades of priceless memories. Vital to ensure family can access this after you pass away.