Guides
Plain answers for a hard subject.
Short guides on what to do after a death, and how to leave things in good order yourself. No jargon, and no pretending the rules are the same in every state.
After a death
The first 48 hours after someone dies
What has to happen in the first two days after a death, what can wait, and the mistakes worth avoiding while you are exhausted.
6 minute read
How many death certificates should you order?
Who needs a certified copy of a death certificate, who will accept a photocopy, and how to work out how many to order the first time.
5 minute read
If it happens tonight: what your family can actually open
After a sudden death a family has a locked phone, no way into the email and no recovery codes. Here is what they need instead, step by step, and what to set up today so it works.
6 minute read
Logins and passwords
How to leave your family your passwords, properly
What to write down for each account your family will need, from the phone to the photos, and the one place a password is not the answer.
6 minute read
Bring every saved password across in one go
If your logins already live in a browser or a password manager, you can export them once and import the file into your envelope. How to do it, and how to clean up afterwards.
5 minute read
Start with two things: the phone passcode and the main email
If your family can get into your phone and your main email, they can sort out almost everything else. Why those two come first and what to write down for each.
4 minute read
Hidden and valuable
Private things
Accounts and money
Payable on death: the free form that skips probate
Naming a beneficiary on a bank or investment account lets the money go straight to that person. How it works, what to watch for, and how to set it up.
5 minute read
Unclaimed property: how to check for money a relative left behind
Every US state holds forgotten bank accounts, uncashed checks and insurance payouts until someone claims them. The search is free. Here is how to do it properly.
5 minute read
Documents
Signing your will and keeping it where it can be found
A will you wrote yourself only works if it was signed properly and the original can be found. What makes it count and where to keep it.
5 minute read
Does a power of attorney end at death? Yes.
A power of attorney lets someone act for you while you are alive. It stops the moment you die. What takes over, and why you need both documents.
5 minute read
Which paper does what: power of attorney, will, trust and the rest
There is no single document that lets someone do anything and everything. A power of attorney works only while you are alive. Here is the small set that covers both sides of that line, and how to make each one count.
7 minute read
Insurance
Digital life
People
Check-ins
Family
More guides
- Find the subscriptions your family would keep paying forAccounts and money
- Autopay: make it easy for your family to stop or keep each paymentAccounts and money
- Joint accounts and accounts in your name alone: what your family should knowAccounts and money
- How to check the beneficiary on every account and policyAccounts and money
- How to list your retirement accounts so they can be foundAccounts and money
- Your safe deposit box: what your family needs to know about itHidden and valuable
- How to leave a home safe combination without leaving it lying aroundHidden and valuable
- Make an inventory of collectibles so your family does not undersell themHidden and valuable
- Write down where the jewelry and heirlooms are, and who should have themHidden and valuable
- How to plan a crypto hand-off without sharing your keys todayHidden and valuable
- The notes your family needs to use your hardware walletHidden and valuable
- List your crypto exchange accounts so your family can find themHidden and valuable
- Two-step sign-in and backup codes: the lock your family cannot pickLogins and passwords
Accounts and services
- Google account after a death: what your family can doDigital life
- Apple and iCloud after a death: photos, devices and the accountDigital life
- Facebook after a death: memorialize, download or closeDigital life
- Instagram after a death: what your family can do with the accountDigital life
- LinkedIn after a death: closing a profile kindlyDigital life
- X (formerly Twitter) after a death: what a family can ask forDigital life
- TikTok after a death: videos, followers and the accountDigital life
- A YouTube channel after its owner diesDigital life
- WhatsApp after a death: chats, groups and the phone numberDigital life
- Snapchat after a death: what a family can doDigital life
- Microsoft and Outlook accounts after a deathLogins and passwords
- Yahoo Mail after a death: what your family can ask forLogins and passwords
- Amazon after a death: orders, subscriptions and the accountAccounts and money
- eBay after a death: open listings, payouts and the accountBusiness
Situations
- Your spouse died and you do not know their passwordsAfter a death
- You have their phone but not the passcodeLogins and passwords
- You cannot get into their email accountLogins and passwords
- Sign-in codes keep going to a phone nobody can openLogins and passwords
- You found a key and have no idea what it opensHidden and valuable
- You think there is cash hidden in the houseHidden and valuable
- You know they owned crypto but cannot find the keysHidden and valuable
- Their mail keeps arriving: what to do with itAfter a death
- Bills are still arriving in their nameAccounts and money
- Their social media keeps showing their birthdayDigital life
- Their card is still being charged for subscriptionsAccounts and money
- Someone died alone at home: the first calls to makeAfter a death
- Someone died while traveling far from homeAfter a death