Do you keep details of your accounts anywhere (in the event of you dying for example)

miss_corerupted

I was thinking about this yesterday mainly because I signed up for Noddle and there was 2 accounts on there I had forgotten about so how is OH supposed to know. We aren't married and neither of us have wills. I really need to sort stuff out I think

Kim_13

After reading this thread, I bought a notebook to write all sort codes, account numbers etc in. I haven't written balances as it feels like too much info lying around and will change as the deals do, but it's enough to know where to go.

Haven't written down any logins and don't intend to. Isn't someone else using your login when you're dead illegal anyway? The death certificate would prove that someone else had been making transactions.

Newly_retired

Perhaps the most useful thing is to have utility direct debits coming out of a joint account. Our are in Santander 123 which means they get cash back too, and the account is constantly topped up for maximum interest.
So no immediate worries for the surviving spouse re utility bills and cash.

As for everything else, we keep our finances separate, and DH also has responsibilities for another property which I am not involved with and would not inherit, so that would be a nightmare situation for someone else.
I have a document online which I update with a list of accounts and rough amounts, but I don't print it very often. I should. I also have a separate notebook with passwords. It is a real mess but I understand it. Not sure if DH or DD would. Something to work on.

bigfreddiel

I print mine out, account details etc on one sheet and all the logins on a separate sheet. You need both sheets to be able to access the accounts online.

Keeping account numbers and sort codes on the same sheet of paper isn't a problem. Think about it, every time you pay by cheque all this information is there in black and white, including your name and bank name.

newuser78

After a recent event, it made me think of my own affairs so I am on the same boat looking for the best solution. The requirements are:
- Secure
- Easy to use
- Anyone in family can access it

Research lead me to apps like YNAB, Banktivity, and aggregators like Mint.com (which looks great but no support for UK account holders).

I could probably rustle something up quickly in Excel but no idea how it should function/look! What useful information? How many tabs? Excel users - would it be possible for you to add a screenshot or Excel file in this thread (remove your personal and financial data first!)?

Keep_pedalling

This is one of the reasons I am trying to keep things very simple, and can't be bothered to to try and maximise interest rates on emergancy cash holdings. The bank accounts we do have are joint, and all the funds we hold are sitting in a wrapper via an IFA, so very easy to manage and it should make things very simple for our executors when the time comes.

I keep a copy of account numbers, and a spreadsheet with records of any major gifts given in the last 7 years with a copy of our wills in a safe.

JustAnotherSaver

I like the idea of something 'in the cloud' or whatever the phrase is that is password protected.

Right now i have a dropbox folder that i can share, but i can't help but feel it's not the most secure of things since it's not accessed with a password. Only a link.

Or is it perfectly fine?

If not then what do you recommend for these passworded clouds?



I'm glad this thread got some people thinking. I suppose it's pretty important stuff that we tend to overlook because anything like this is always way down the line for us right? Or so we always think.

colsten

I use LastPass and its Emergency Access Facility. Details of all my accounts are in AceMoney (basically same as MS Money), and the access info for AceMoney is safely kept in LastPass.

adam_1979

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

If not then what do you recommend for these passworded clouds?

I'm glad this thread got some people thinking. I suppose it's pretty important stuff that we tend to overlook because anything like this is always way down the line for us right? Or so we always think.

I use safe in cloud.


It was/is free and very easy to use and seems to be a good solid piece of software that does not intrude with lots of updates etc. This is so much easier than a book with passwords and logins scribbled out multiple times because one of us has made a mess of logging in to a website and had to change a password

Doshwaster

It's something worth thinking about.

After my dad died suddenly last year, my mum brought out a huge cardboard box filled with bank statement, polices and loads of other paperwork. He looked after all of their finances but unfortunately he was terrible at filing and she had no idea what bank accounts, pensions, savings, benefits or insurance policies they had.

I can tell you that took ages to sort out. I must have spent most of the first week on the phone to various government departments, banks and insurance companies trying to sort everything out - and some of it didn't get resolved for months. At least now I have a full list of my mum's accounts.

As for myself, my filing is pretty good (one thing I didn't inherit from my dad) but I don't have a list of all of the accounts in one single place. Maybe I should do that but since I'm single I'm not sure who I would trust with the information.