Secure and simple way to document accounts for spouse?
January 10, 2011 12:44 PM   Subscribe

Secure and simple way to document accounts for spouse?

Been married about 1.5 years now. Things are going well with joint checking and bills, etc. My wife's bills and accounts are relatively easy to track but I have a lot of different financial accounts in various places. 401, stocks, credit cards, banks, roth, loans . . .

In this modern age I keep very, very little paper. I handle as much as possible online. She has noticed and issues a valid concern that if something happened, she would have no idea about where all this stuff is, logins, account numbers, etc.

What is a good method to document all these things. . .namely account numbers, electronic logins and PINs, etc . . .I've made sure she is noted on most everything I have, but for our sanity in case of accident, what would make it easy to recover these items for opposite spouse?

Clearly writing everything down seems effective but not secure. . . I guess then maybe a safe gets involved? Safety deposit box? Any electronic solutions?
posted by patrad to Human Relations (16 answers total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
 
I have switched over to using an account/password manager (KeePass is a free one, there are lots of commercial ones with more features - just search for password manager). In the event I am incapacitated, my spouse just needs my master key and he has access to all my accounts and passwords.

The more traditional answer would probably be a safe deposit box or documents filed with your attorney.
posted by muddgirl at 12:51 PM on January 10, 2011


Funny, this article, "Cyberspace when you're dead", was just highlighted on the blue.

Entrustet seems to be the one the author chooses, though other services, many with a bent toward preserving an online legacy, are mentioned.
posted by lesli212 at 12:54 PM on January 10, 2011


I printed out this information (it was a couple sheets of paper) and gave it to my wife to keep in our safety deposit box.
posted by russilwvong at 12:57 PM on January 10, 2011


Maybe you could both use a shared google docs file that has your information?
posted by jillithd at 1:06 PM on January 10, 2011 [1 favorite]


How do you store this info now? Is it a matter of providing pointers to the location (digital or otherwise) where she should look? Or are you looking to write down info that may or not exist anywhere currently? (PINs, etc).

One issue to consider is what to do when info changes -- if you simply tell her how to find the information, then you don't need to print a new copy, take it to the bank, etc. If you are literally storing the information (not a "pointer" to it) in a safety deposit box, then Murphy's Law suggests that you would get hit by the bus between the time when you changed your PIN and when you were able to record that change in the safety deposit box.
posted by misterbrandt at 1:11 PM on January 10, 2011


I use and highly recommend 1Password.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 1:15 PM on January 10, 2011


Yeah, I'd recommend 1password or something similar. Either share the 1password master password with her now, or put it in one of those cool plastic holders that missile launch codes are (supposed to be) kept in (if you don't want to share all the info now).
posted by Admiral Haddock at 1:26 PM on January 10, 2011


What the heck, no one has mentioned Mint yet?

Things like 1Password and others will help keeping track of passwords, PINs and stuff but Mint is a great way to see all of your accounts and see the whole financial picture. The two things together should be perfect for you.
posted by VTX at 1:33 PM on January 10, 2011


Or put the master password in a sealed envelope (though I like the idea of the missile code thingy better). In any event, obviously, keep the envelope in a safe deposit box, or with your lawyer--it would defeat the purpose if the envelope were lost or destroyed...
posted by Admiral Haddock at 1:35 PM on January 10, 2011


Response by poster: Currently the information is stored in my head.

Yes the changing of information is a pain, which is one reason why I was trying to avoid meatspace options.

We currently use Google Docs for our shared budget and other items, however it seems a little insecure to me. If someone got in they could literally wipe out our life finances in a matter of minutes. (Which is why e-solutions scare me)

Entrustet seems a bit promising. Going to research that more.

Death-noob question: How/where are wills stored? Seems like that would be a similar mechanism.
posted by patrad at 1:38 PM on January 10, 2011


Response by poster: What about locked fire-proof cases? Are there any horror stories anyone knows of with these?
posted by patrad at 1:59 PM on January 10, 2011


If security is your main concern you could store your login details and your passwords/pins separately. In hardcopy. As long as she has access to both she'd be ok. Alternatively, you could document both in one document and place it in her safe deposit box. This avoids the problems of yours being seized and her being unable to access it just when she needs to. Just remember it's there should there ever be any marital problems so you can change passwords for example should you feel this is necessary.
posted by koahiatamadl at 2:43 PM on January 10, 2011


I will not claim this is the most secure method ever, however: I keep the info for online logins in a draft email, which I send on to my husband occasionally. It has all of the user names, and then we have a couple of basic passwords we both know that I either use directly or base the others off of. So for the email I don't write out the base password, just a clue to what it is. For example the email looks like:

Mefi: lemonade
Pwd: [pwd1]36

Amazon: lemonade73
Pwd: [pwd1]

DTV: lemonade7
Pwd: a[pwd1]


So he knows what '[pwd1]' is, and then tacks '36' or whatever to the end. As far as account numbers...well, there's a file cabinet with statements, he'd have to go pull the folder. I can find it faster, but there are only 2 drawers so he'd figure it out if he had to.
posted by lemonade at 4:46 PM on January 10, 2011


I have heard that the fireproof cases are not necessarily waterproof.
posted by desjardins at 4:48 PM on January 10, 2011


I like LastPass for this fuctionality. Cheap. Works across browsers.
posted by sharks don't eat potatoes at 7:17 PM on January 10, 2011


My wife & I use keepass for this. 1password and lastpass offer similar functionality.
posted by escher at 8:34 AM on January 11, 2011


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