Wills and Data Handling - How Have You Dealt with It?

cfuse on 04/03/2025 - 17:38

I spoke to my solicitor about handling data in wills (passwords, all those photos, etc.) and he basically told me there's no industry standard and it's a roll your own solution situation.

I'd really like to avoid having to dump 20Tb of trash and porn on my (allegedly) grieving relatives if all they want to do is close down my accounts and save the family photos. It's not difficult to see how quickly all of this could spiral out of control. Especially with passwords. I may well have a keychain with all my mutable passwords secured by a passphrase but I don't want that in clear text anywhere, not even in my solicitor's office.

So, with that in mind: any advice on how people have or plan to deal with this type of thing?

Financial Will

Comments

  • spackbace on 04/03/2025 - 17:48
    +2

    Have a physical safe and the combination is in your will?

  • trapper on 04/03/2025 - 17:50
    +7

    Use something like bitwarden, then you just need to pass on the master key.

    Keep the password for that 20TB porn stash somewhere else though, let it fade into oblivion with you.

  • sam-1966 on 04/03/2025 - 17:57
    +7

    My father had a folder with passwords written down, which was an absolute godsend when my sister and I were the executors of his estate. Made life soooo easy.

    So long as that is kept securely it might be the answer. Maybe leave it with your solicitor to pass on to the executor. No - scrap that. My BIL passed away 22/12, so solicitor was closed and made life very difficult for obtaining will to do the other thing.

    And if they bank ANZ - get them to change! Reported the death 28/12 online. Had auto response. Reported to bank in person.

    Emailed again last Friday. Still no actual response!

    Oh, and for your family's sake, please complete medical forms re your wishes. They do make things much easier for your family to make sure they do what you want.

    • MS Paint on 04/03/2025 - 18:16
      +1

      And if they bank ANZ - get them to change!

      Can confirm. Will solicitor still requesting release of funds since September 2024. FFS

      • brad1-8tsi on 05/03/2025 - 08:23
        +4

        When Dad died my Sister had access to Dad's accounts and we transferred $20k (the daily limit) to my "empty" account prior to notifying the bank of her death. We had the money but it made paying for funeral and other expenses a lot easier. Probably illegal but whatever.

        • FoxJump on 05/03/2025 - 09:16
          +3

          this is the way

        • sam-1966 on 06/03/2025 - 17:07

          We were similar with dad, but transferred before he died. We were fortunate in that he didn't have a funeral (both parents were body donors) and what he really wanted was a 'thrash' - so we used money to pay for that and then bills - so much easier than the hassles we are having now with the other estate.

    • apsilon on 04/03/2025 - 18:20
      +1

      Branches are useless, do it online: https://www.anz.com.au/support/bereavement-services/

      I found ANZ pretty good to work through it with, Westpac however lived up to their reputation of being decades behind the curve. I ended up lodging a complaint via the ombudsman to get it resolved.

      In regards to passwords, I use a password manager and my executor who I trust completely knows how to obtain access but there's little where passwords are really required. Most services have methods in place for the executor to gain access.

      • brad1-8tsi on 06/03/2025 - 08:27

        Try selling a deceased estate's shares through westpac.

        I was astounded at how many different ways they could give the wrong information or move the goalposts. That was 9 months of frustration topped off by causing us to fall into the new FY and therefore another tax return needed. I believe my wife filled out the same forms 5 times.

      • sam-1966 on 06/03/2025 - 17:08

        The person at the branch was shocked that we'd heard nothing back. Still haven't… lucky it is only a credit card with them.

    • kraigg on 06/03/2025 - 06:47
      +2

      I can confirm, relating to ANZ. They're the worst! I had the same issue with a family member who recently passed away. Dealt with both branch staff as well as the bereavement team, and they make things as difficult as possible in order to not release the funds.

  • KangaDrew on 04/03/2025 - 18:19
    -1

    Get a titanium plate
    Punch in your pass phrase
    Bury it somewhere in your backyard
    Put the GPS co-ordinates in your will

    (and put your pr0n in the cloud)

  • CurlCurl on 04/03/2025 - 18:44

    Take it with you.

    • jv on 04/03/2025 - 20:25

      That does not sound like a secure password.

  • Dollar General on 04/03/2025 - 18:47
    +7

    Just use password01 for everything

  • soan papdi on 04/03/2025 - 19:30
    +3

    I recently set up a dead man’s switch for my Google account. If the account is unused for 2-3 months, it will grant access to my wife for services I allowed (mail, photos, docs, etc). You can have a document in there with your instructions on dealing with your digital leftovers.

    https://www.google.com/settings/account/inactive

    • jv on 04/03/2025 - 20:27
      -3

      it will grant access to my wife for services

      That did not work well for Gene Hackman…

      • soan papdi on 04/03/2025 - 21:30
        -1

        That’s why you leave a will drafted by a lawyer.

        • jv on 04/03/2025 - 22:29
          +1

          What if your wife is the lawyer?

  • Benoffie on 04/03/2025 - 19:56

    Need to treat digital assets like any other.

    Bitwarden, redundancy access etc. It's also a good idea to list in a spreadsheet subscriptions etc (no pws) so that your Executor knows who to chase.

    If you're over 50, it might be a reasonable time to consider culling the excess to make life easier.

    https://jamesonlaw.com.au/wills-and-estates/digital-assets-i…

    For us, we have multiple backups including HDD which are cycled out. They are stored in a safe. The Executor will get access to that safe, which will also have the Bitwarden and main administrative pw.

    Yes, we could leave that with the solicitor but it's likely to change. All the solicitor has to do is activate the Executor. That's it.

  • tenpercent on 04/03/2025 - 20:33

    I'd really like to avoid having to dump 20Tb of trash and porn on my (allegedly) grieving relatives if all they want to do is close down my accounts and save the family photos.

    Hopefully there's no overlap between the family photos and pr0n collection then.

    And who will you leave the pr0n collection to then? Can't give it to charity?

    • Master Bates on 04/03/2025 - 22:58
      +6

      I'll take it. I know how to use it.

      • KSMLJ on 05/03/2025 - 00:43

        You can finally rise to the occasion!

      • NanoDuke on 05/03/2025 - 09:09

        Username checks out

  • Ryanek on 04/03/2025 - 21:59

    20Tb of trash and porn

    Those are rookie numbers!

  • 87percent on 05/03/2025 - 08:03
    +2

    Who dl’s porn anymore? What a waste of space

  • footscrayvic on 05/03/2025 - 08:22
    +3
    1. Clean up your digital life to organise it and have backups of those things that are appropriate (without passwords)
    2. Set up trusted people as able to access your apple/google etc account on the event of your death
    3. Establish two or three people with Power of Attorney in case you lose capacity
    4. Write a Will and store it securely (a safe or with the lawyer)
    5. Create two key documents that are stored securely
      (a) A diagram that shows how money comes into your financial life and moves around between bank accounts, investments, credit cards, to service providers etc. Indicate which are auto payments and which are not.
      (b) A list of your userids/member numbers/client numbers for all banks, utilities, credit cards, media (eg Netflix), phone providers etc. Dont forget to add crypto too.
    6. Update both documents regularly - every six months.

    A friend died recently without having created these documents and it was/still is a complete nightmare. The old days of looking through paperwork to find financial info has gone as everything is digital now.

    Providing a list of passwords also doesn't work as two factor authentication checks the computer that is being used. If it isn't the owner's computer then it checks by a different means like sms but if you cant get into their phone then you are stuffed.

    It is a lot of work to set things up but worth it in the end. Just remember to update your two key documents regularly. You will be surprised how quickly things change (streaming services, credit cards etc etc etc)

    Good luck.

    • bbinc on 05/03/2025 - 08:46

      I like the ‘diagram’ idea you suggest. I did put one together a few years ago, but it has changed so much since. One small change can cause a complete reshuffle of the whole tree. Would love to have software/app that tracks changes and reorders accordingly. Thinking something like a mindmap maybe.

  • Darayus on 05/03/2025 - 09:42

    How will you manage OTP receiving on your mobile is it face lock or finger lock with ESIM mobile?

    Digital has made life easy but the level of security has been increased due to scammers, it becomes difficult even if the person is alive and has dementia or is incapable due to accident etc. He is unable to access his funds.

    Nowadayss we are forced to change our PW frequently and this will make all our old list redundant.

    • moar bargains on 05/03/2025 - 17:07

      This is (another reason) why a password manager is really handy. It simplifies updating the list of passwords. You can also store and use MFA codes directly from several password managers. Depending on your threat model that can be a really handy thing, especially for passing on to less technical executors/relatives.

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