Passwords

[Manhattanite]

I'm sure this has been addressed in postings in the past, but I wanted to pass on a tip I wish I had followed while my PALS was alive: get your PALS passwords to internet accounts, bank accounts, etc.

During the illness I felt weird asking my PALS because it felt like I was invading his privacy and taking yet another symbol of his independence... But I wish I had asked him to write the passwords and put them in a sealed envelope not to be opened until after his death, perhaps even leaving it with his estate attorneys if that made him more comfortable.

Right now I can access his accounts because the passwords are stored in our computer but if anything happens to the computer I will lose the ability to do it.

 

[lgelb]

Install LastPass or another password manager in your browser and let it pick up the info for you. Then you will always have it.

 

[Atsugi]

I have been in this habit since the military encouraged me to do it decades ago. I have a binder. Each page is an explanation, complete with passwords, of each account in the household: water, gas, credit cards, loans, VA benefits, etc. The first page is a set of instructions: when I die, contact the following people, stop the following paychecks, get the following benefits....

In some cases, the binder needs to explain how to run every aspect of the household. For other families, the only thing needed is the phone number to the organ donation center and the funeral home.

When my mom passed, it took six months to find all her accounts by rooting through loose pages in file cabinets.

When I go, my kinds will be able to run the checklist in a day, get the insurance money quick, and carry on their lives as usual.

 

[affected]

How do you store this securely Mike? I think that probably is a main concern for a lot of people.

 

[Atsugi]

I showed my kids the book and showed them where I put it away in a safe. Then they watched me put the safe combination into a book which they watched me put into a locked box. Then they saw where I put the key to the box and they know the PIN to use to open the box to get the key to get the book to get the combination to open the safe to get the book that has all our private stuff.

It's a Circle of Life kind of ... thing.

 

[affected]

wow Mike!!! impressive circles within circles!