Written by: Marilee Falco, CFP®, ChFC
“What’s my password?”
How often have you said this to yourself? We have so many passwords today that it is nearly impossible to memorize all of them. Most of us have devised a method for creating passwords and storing them. But what about your spouse’s passwords? If your spouse were to suddenly die or become incapacitated (or get hit by that proverbial beer truck that my colleague, Grant Wilburn, wrote about in his most recent blog), would you know the passwords to open their multitude of devices, such as smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc.? Would you know which websites and accounts to access, let alone the passwords to those accounts? Or, if you were to pass away suddenly, would your spouse or family be able to access your devices and accounts?
In recent years, my husband and I have gone completely digital, and since I do our bookkeeping, I have many bills that I receive and pay online. I also have investment and bank accounts that are completely digital. My husband would need a roadmap to show him where to find all of this information!
I read an interesting article in Kiplinger recently entitled, Make Sure Your Spouse Has Your Passwords. This article not only motivated me to write this blog but also to put my own affairs in order and finally create that account roadmap for my husband and myself.
I located a great resource from Everplans, which promotes itself as “a complete set of everything you want your loved ones to have access to if something happens to you.” Here is a link to their Documents Gathering checklist. I am not recommending or promoting Everplans, but they do provide useful document checklists.
Do yourself and your family a favor, get those passwords in order and complete your checklist!