Consider this scenario. Today you are alive and well, going about the routine of your life. Tomorrow you die.
What happens next? Who knows your wishes for the myriad issues faced by your family and friends when you are gone? Have you put them in writing? Do you have a will or living trust? What about the rest of the details of your life?
Does anyone know how to find your insurance policies, banking information, details of your business, Internet passwords or even the combination to the lock on your back gate?
Answers to those issues are a few clicks away, thanks to a new online service that automatically sends e-mails with personal messages, photos, videos, copies of documents and anything you'd want your family to have if you were to suddenly die. You Departed (www.youdeparted.com) is the creation of Collin and Nick Harris, a father-and-son team in Incline Village.
"The site enables individuals and families to prepare for unexpected events," said Nick, 24. "You have a lot of things you want to protect, such as insurance information and estate information. You get everything like that organized and stored securely."
In the event of your death, family members can log in with a password you provide while you're still living, and then everything you stored at You Departed is sent out. Collin, 51, said clients can elect to have multiple holders of the log-in information, who must agree that the time has come to tap-in to the protected data.
"You get a user name, a password and a key," Collin said. "You add a certain number of recipients. Your spouse, kids and trusted family members. When the time comes, these are the people that can go in to unlock your information. It requires a consensus that they all agree that now is the time to unlock the account. You can also set a time delay if you want, so if you are still alive you can go in and relock the account."
The site can also be used as a secure virtual vault for information you want to protect but need to access while you're still alive: lock combinations, financial Web site log-in details and anything else you deem important enough to protect.
The site features state-of-the art Advanced Encryption System technology to help ensure hackers won't get to your information. You can find more details in the site's "about us" area.
A "mini" plan lets you try the service for free for 90 days and lets you store up to 10 entries with a total file size of 1 megabyte. Other annual plans start at $29.95, with clients paying more for additional file storage and numbers of final e-mail messages sent on your behalf.
Thoroughness with those final messages is important, as the recipients won't be able to reply.
Share your Internet story with me at agibes@reviewjournal.com.
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