I’m trying to identify the best way to share certain documents with the kids. I’m thinking of documents that may not need to be accessed for years but really would be good to have if the unexpected happens. These documents could include copies of a will or trust, a power of attorney, an advanced health care directive, etc. I would also consider housing digital copies of photos the kids may want from their childhood, documents about our ancestry, etc.
I know DB is one option. Someone recommended google keep but I just did some research and it appears it is meant for note taking, not necessarily long term storage. I do like the idea of google because I believe google is here for the long term. Ideally, no one will need these documents for years so I don’t want to pick a site that might not stand the test of time (using my best ability to predict that).
I’d love to hear how others have handled this, especially if you’ve found a good online option.
iCloud Drive if you’re an Apple user? I don’t use it personally but Apple will certainly be around for a while and I do have the impression that they take personal privacy seriously.
My folks have handled it in a very old school way. They’ve used this and told us where to look for it if something happens. Doesn’t solve the photo issue, though. http://www.lastingmatters.com/
I don’t think I’d personally trust anything online.
@anomander, I’m sure I’m being naive but how would one share something in iCloud? And what I’m looking for is one “box” or repository that would contain just the documents I’d want to share with the kids. I know my info is stored (housed?) in icloud but I’m not aware how I’d use it for this purpose.
With the rapidity of changes in technology, security, passwords, etc., I think it’s premature to think you can share access that may sit unused for years, and expect it to work many years from now.
I would save everything as pdf’s & then choose one of these options:
Share via cloud of your choice, but tell the kids they need to download & save now, on the platform of their choice.
Load onto thumb drive(s) & give to kid(s).
Mail hard copies.
Mail a list of where to find everything if you die.
I’m guessing you want to do this via cloud so that changes in documents would always get updated, but I think we’re just not there yet.
I’m a dinosaur. Although there are copies of family pictures and videos on DVDs and computer around house, I have an external hard drive in a small safe deposit box with all the documents, family pictures and videos, etc that I have copied/scanned. I regularly add to it. It’s a small box, cost is minimal, nothing else is in box. The box is titled in trust. Whether I or W goes first, other has access. S is first on list of successor trustees (ST). There are other trusted STs as well. After that we can’t worry about any “what if” situations that may arise. External hard drive is for now my best idea for safekeeping. I too am a little skeptical of cloud based storage.
@patsmom, how does one attach a document in google drive? I know I can create a folder there and add my own documents so it would serve my criterion of having one spot where these various things go. I’ve never thought about how to attach other/outside/already created documents and photos on google drive. Seems like there should be a way…
You can easily upload files into Goolle drive (File, Upload), then place in a folder shared with your family members. I would also save the files on a flash drive, as well as keep the hard copies of important docs in a safe deposit box or home safe. You can take pics of the docs or scan using a mobile app, then upload to the google drive.
Years ago I made a document called “Household Records” in Word. I e-mailed a copy to H, and sent redacted copies (same as the original but without the passwords to the financial sites – bank and investment firms) to the kids.
This document tells where all the records are kept, details of where we have our investments and where to find hard copies of paperwork, policy numbers and passwords for insurance accounts, etc.
If both hubbie and I go, the kids are named, designated beneficiaries of most of our financial resources, so it is just important that they know where things are held. Not sure we need them knowing the details of our numbers at this point, though.
This file also has passwords for our accounts, including credit card accounts, and I update this file whenever I make changes, and also update the date within the file and in the file name.
This works for me for now, at least I figure they will have the critical info about what is where. But on my list of “to dos” is to develop a more professionally approved, detailed system.
It is mostly H that will need this file at some point, I imagine, as I handle all the family paperwork and money matters, and he is likely to outlive me. (Also on my list of “to dos” is to have H get familiar with handling these things.)
Some law firms will keep originals of wills they prepare in a fireproof safe as a service to clients. If yours does, make sure your kids know which law firm you work with.
Otherwise, my thought is to keep your own original documents in a fireproof safe or safe deposit box, give copies to someone you trust (e.g., the executor you have named in your will, the person you have designated as your medical POA, your children), and make sure your children know where the originals are and have access to keys or passwords or combinations they may need to get in the safe.
My mom made all of us a 3-ring binder about 10 yrs ago, and every christmas we are all mailed an update. It has pertinent account information, updated power of attorney, etc, I keep mine on a shelf. my own children have copies of our will and copies of their healthcare power of attorney forms (we have that, for them, at least until they get married)
We will give our kids the names and contact info for our CPA and trust attorney and insurance agent. That should cover most things. They also know where we keep hard copies of spreadsheets of all our passwords and account info.
In the last years of his life, my father lived far away from where I live, and I usually visited him only once a year. On each visit, he would remind me of the locations of various documents in his files, show me where everything was kept, and explain anything about his finances that had changed during the year. He knew that if something happened to him, I would have access to all of his papers because I had keys to his house. He didn’t tell me what the documents said (he didn’t want me to know his bank balance or the provisions of his will), but I knew where everything was.
He died suddenly at 83. When I arrived at his house, all his papers were in impeccable order – except that the title to his car was missing. He had been talking about buying a new car, and I suspect that he had removed the title from its usual place with car shopping in mind. I had to get a replacement title from the state in order to sell the car.
My father was not a fan of modern technology, but it didn’t seem to matter. What mattered was that he was well organized and that he had told other people (my sister as well as me) where everything was located.
I’m in the process of making a binder with tabbed copies of everything. As I go along, I’m putting scanned copies into a file on the computer and plan to put those files on a flash drive. I haven’t quite decided where this will be stored. When this is all done, I’ll try to keep everything updated. We have a subscription to Carbonite. It backs up all files each night and can be accessed from any computer with the password. Originals are in a safe deposit box and that’s noted on the hard copies in the binder. I’m hoping this covers all the bases! BTW, Carbonite was priceless when our computer crashed a couple of years ago. It costs about $60/year.
We have DB and DH has spoken to the kids – 27 and 24 – about access, but they haven’t tapped into it. Our attorney has their contact info and they have hers.
@Marian my mother is like your father was, periodically she’d go over things with me. When she suffered a temporary incapacitating illness I was able to get at everything and keep her bills paid and her house functioning. It was a blessing at a really intense time.
Both sons have some bonds and other paperwork in our safe deposit box, their preference. We all agreed to add more-local sibling as a signatory.
And @preironic amen re Carbonite, we’ve had to do more than one restore.
Heh. Now I’m worried about the kids’ documents and estate planning.
It s important to have the original copy of a will. I would say that is more important than sharing electronic copies. If anyone does not know where their or their parents’ originals are, it is worth finding out, because only the original can be acted upon. If only copies exist, there is a legal procedure to make them valid, and that can cost money and cause delays.