>Things that really matter (banks, etc.) have well-established next-of-kin processes.
Banks have next-of-kin processes because they're required to, most companies are not.
With banks, it can take weeks or months to access an account after someone has died. Even when they let you freeze an account, what if that account was also paying for your family’s life insurance or health insurance?
This would be easy if you can just share passwords, but it is illegal to access someone’s bank account or email account after they die without having all the legal docs and following the company’s process. Even if you do everything right, some companies may never give you access. When a girl died of mysterious circumstances, Facebook refused to help her family determine whether her death was suicide or murder: https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/facebook-fights-for-...
Banks have next-of-kin processes because they're required to, most companies are not.
With banks, it can take weeks or months to access an account after someone has died. Even when they let you freeze an account, what if that account was also paying for your family’s life insurance or health insurance?
This would be easy if you can just share passwords, but it is illegal to access someone’s bank account or email account after they die without having all the legal docs and following the company’s process. Even if you do everything right, some companies may never give you access. When a girl died of mysterious circumstances, Facebook refused to help her family determine whether her death was suicide or murder: https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/facebook-fights-for-...
If I ever die of mysterious circumstances…