My mother named me as a beneficiary on her life insurance policy. When she died, I called the insurance company and found out that before distributing any funds they required a death certificate and a copy of the life insurance policy. The death certificate was the easy part. Where was the life insurance policy?
I quickly located the life insurance premium statements and a cover letter from the insurance salesman. I called the insurance company again. They were adamant, without a copy of the entire life insurance policy there was no payout. It didn’t make sense to me…why didn’t they already have a copy of the policy?
Hours later, I found the policy in a stack of papers. It was over 10 pages long! I made a copy and sent it to them. Several weeks later, I received a check.
This little experience taught me how vital it is to have your final affairs in order, before you die. This is one of the many reasons why we created Estate++, a virtual safe deposit box that helps you organize your affairs.
James Bell
With all the attention being given to the digital afterlife, I would like to share my real world experience with accessing my mother's online banking account during her incapacity and after her death.
Luckily, my mother had enough foresight to seek out an estate planning attorney many years before her passing. This attorney created a comprehensive estate plan, which contained a will, a financial power-of-attorney, a health care power-of-attorney, a living will, and a revocable living trust. In order to fund her revocable living trust she had to change the name on her bank accounts to the name of the trust.
When she became incapacitated, I needed to write checks and transfer money between accounts...no easy feat when the bank is located over 700 miles away. So I called the bank for help. They immediately responded by freezing all of her accounts. They told me that nothing else could be done without a power-of-attorney. Once they received a copy of my mother's financial power-of-attorney, they promptly gave me a new password to her online banking account and restored check writing privileges.
When she died things became more complicated. Once again, the bank responded by freezing all of her accounts. This time they needed copies of her death certificate, will, and revocable living trust. They also required a notarized copy of an "Acceptance of Successor Trustee" form from each of the living trust’s successor trustees. Only the executor of the estate received a new password to her online banking account, which was now restricted to read-only access. Check writing privileges were restored, but each check required the signature of each successor trustee.
Overall, the bank was very cooperative, once they received the proper paperwork. I can only imagine the problems a person could have without an estate plan. A virtual safe deposit box is a secure place to store information about online bank accounts, but never assume that just because you have the password that you can access an account without the proper authority. I highly recommend that you consult an estate planning attorney concerning the details of your specific situation. You won't get a second chance once your are gone!
James Bell
Special thanks to the employees of The First National Bank of Illinois
I recently came across an article by Julie Garber, where she outlines the complete process on how to probate an estate. Most interesting were the first 4 steps in her checklist:
From my own personal experience as the executor of my mother’s estate, I can tell you that these actions will be overwhelming, especially while grieving the loss of a loved one. However, this process can be made much easier by using a virtual safe deposit box to help arrange your final affairs. One such product, Estate++, is designed specifically with these facts in mind. Organizing your final affairs before you die is one of the greatest gifts you can leave your loved ones.
James Bell
Are you tired of receiving junk mail from companies even after you asked them to stop?
If so, then USPS Form 1500 is the answer. It's simple and free of charge. Even though the form states that it stops sexually oriented advertisements, a new postal regulation opened it up to any kind of junk mail. (The USPS never updated the form).
James Bell
Lately, a great deal of attention has been given to the digital afterlife, especially gaining access to the deceased’s email account. A digital asset, like any other asset, is subject to local laws concerning descent and distribution.
First of all, you need to determine if the digital asset is really an asset at all. You may be surprised to find that the Terms of Service (i.e. fine print that you agreed to before using the provider’s service) give you no ownership rights to your email.
Next, digital assets need to be clearly documented in your will or trust. If you don’t have any of these documents, you will most likely need a court order to access these assets. Never assume that naming a beneficiary with a third party beneficiary service will allow a digital asset to pass out of your estate. You could spend hundreds of dollars on this type of service only to find that it is not legally binding. Even worse, depending on local law, accessing an account without legal permission could constitute a criminal offense.
If passing on emails to loved ones after death is really important, you should probably use a secure email service which is committed to privacy and ownership rights of data that you generate. One such service, Privacy Harbor, requires that detailed account information be included in a legal document (such as a will or trust), as well as access rights for the beneficiary. Under normal circumstances, Privacy Harbor requires a court order to grant access to any email communication to anyone other than the account holder. In case of death, access is granted if Privacy Harbor is provided with the complete email address and password along with a copy of the account holder’s death certificate and legal document in which access rights were granted.
Be cautious when entering detailed account information into a will. When a will is admitted to probate court, it becomes public record and can be viewed by anyone desiring access. Store your passwords in a safe place, like your virtual safe deposit box, outside of your estate plan. Alternatively, a revocable living trust or pour-over will may be a more desirable place to document account information because these documents are designed to avoid the probate process and do not become part of the public record.
Make sure to contact a professional estate planner for exact details on your specific situation. If not, those precious emails could end up in the Trash folder.
James Bell
Report an identity theft to local authorities as soon as possible and obtain a police report. If the local police report won’t take a police report you will need to complete an identity theft report with the FTC.
James Bell