Multiple on-line accounts. How will family find them?

AssemblyGMX

I have an old "LifeBook" obtained from Age UK some years ago.  "AgeUK - Love later life. -   LifeBook ... an easy to use and safe method of recording the practical details of your life."

It is really easy to complete.  After some years the first one (From February 2012) eventually became a bit tatty.  I requested another one in 2019 to replace the first one - both were completely free of charge.  In the second one I made some of the entries in pencil to make them easy to change when, or if, necessary.

I don't know if it is still available, or if the telephone number is still active but, on the back of the LifeBook the details are:

"If you know of anyone else who would benefit from the Age UK LifeBook, call us to request a copy on 0800 169 87 87"  (See update below)

UPDATE:  Just checked on line https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/end-of-life-planning/lifebook/

I hope the link works.

It is now available to Download or telephone to request a print copy: "

Download your LifeBook to get started

If you'd prefer a print copy of the LifeBook to fill out, you can order one for free by calling our Advice Line on 0800 678 1602."

badmemory

And what about POA.  My DS has one so will be able to access my accounts, always supposed he knows where they are, if he doesn't we could end up very hungry.

user1977

Assuming funds are being transferred directly between accounts (and you're not depositing funds by flying to Zurich with a briefcase of tenners), it's not that tricky to identify them all once you've got statements from one of them.

Keep_pedalling

badmemory said:

And what about POA.  My DS has one so will be able to access my accounts, always supposed he knows where they are, if he doesn't we could end up very hungry.

A LPA or EPA ends on the death of the donor, so cannot be used legally to access your accounts.

Linton

 I have supplied a list of our investment and pension companies, banks etc with  account details to our solicitors to be stored with the wills.  The information is much safer for the long term on paper records than computer files and software which may not be usable in 20 years time.

jmr95

Google sheet which I keep updated (I also swap around each year...but its not so regular that it's a burden to update)
Password manager with family accounts for other stuff

In my own case, I was able to have a conversation with my mum and we jotted everything down. Obviously, not everyone will have that opportunity. I had full access to bank accounts but as noted above, you cannot touch these after death anyway, so there is little actual benefit as long as you know they actually exist in the first place. 

I had details of account numbers and balances - handy for your own reference, but it was not required - on providing the necessary documentation to the banks, they can naturally pull up all the accounts anyway. 

There are also services that executors can use that will contact multiple organisations at once, who can confirm existence of accounts. 

wmb194

Every now and again  I have MS Money 2005 print out a list of my accounts to keep with my documents but my version of Money isn’t keen to include the full account numbers.

As the poster above writes, this shouldn’t be an issue though, as it’s more important that people have an idea of which financial institution to contact than having the full details.

mta999

Keep_pedalling said:

silvercar said:

I worry about this. It seems a choice between writing everything down and risking a burglar finding out where everything is. Even if the lists are in the safe, it only takes one instance of the safe being cracked and everything is gone.

I write everything down with codes for passwords,  though I’m not convinced my adult children can crack them. At least they act as a clue for me!

You should not need to record your passwords, no one should be touching the sole accounts of a deceased person. All that should be done is for the administrator to inform the bank of the death at which point it will be frozen so nothing can go in or out. 

The same applies if you loose mental capacity, no one should be touching those accounts until the bank had sight of an LPA or deputyship.

Agree with @Keep_pedalling you don't need to pass on passwords etc or even the type of account - just record eg Lloyds and Lloyds will tell the executor what accounts the deceased had with them