Your Data and Cyber Business After You're Gone

Reader Mountain Splash writes "The New York Times has a decent thought-inspiring article questioning what happens to our stored data and who owns the rights to it after we die. I have to admit that, while this dilemma had already crossed my mind many months ago, I've been rather slow to do something about handling it. While considering the same, though, what I did do was start a very detailed list of my many various emailboxes, IM monikers, cyber buddies, and yes, passwords (complete with encrypted hints to be stored separately). I have also already approached my roomie and my sister about following up with that list for me as a last wish if and when the inevitable should occur. Just wondering if everyone else has done the same or similar... Anyone gone so far as to have already filed their information along with their will with their family lawyer?"

Comments

Use Attorney for business (and personal financial)

[surfinbox]

For business related death I have prepared extensive documentation on servers, passwords, accounts, banking relationships, etc. and have filed that in my bank lock-box. I have informed my attorney whom I wish to have handle those affairs in my absence (a trusted friend/partner). The attorney has that on record in my will. The asset disposal itself is a normal course of handling the estate, but telling Amazon, PayPal, Authorize.net, and others who have my finanicals to shut off my account is no small effort. Finding the trusted friend is not trivial either.

Old Movie websites

[dilweed]

Ever visited a website for a movie that had been released 3 or 4 years ago? The sites just sit there on a server somwhere, ignored largely.

I had a friend commit suicide rather suddenly a few years ago. His site is still up at AOL. I can still read messages he posted and see pictures of him here and there on the net. He left quite a digital legacy.

It's truely intersting, the things we leave behind and we don't realize it.

The "Hit by a bus" file

[doublem]

We have what's called the "Hit by a bus" file where I work. It's supposed to be a set of sealed envelopes to be opened in the event of an emergency.

Sadly, we had a server die while the Network Admin was on vacation, and we discovered his was blank. Seems he wants to take all our configuration, login and server data to his grave.

And it STILL hasn't been updated

Re:A bit off topic

[genesplicer]

I have the same arrangement with an old roommate of mine - we both keep our pr0n in a specific directory of the same name and location. In the unfortunate event that one of us passes away, the other is to delete that directory before family members get ahold of the computer (or, more likely, make a backup copy for themselves, then delete :) ) ...