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CAPITAL REGION
When someone dies, passwords often go with them
Survivors left to try to access accounts
BY TATIANA ZARNOWSKI Gazette Reporter

    Turns out, you can take something with you when you die: all those passwords you keep stored in your head or scribbled on scraps of paper only you can fi nd.
    Protecting your information online with passwords is great for deterring hackers and thieves but frustrating for your loved ones if you die unexpectedly.
    From cellphones that unlock with a passcode only you know, to online accounts where you pay bills and have statements sent to your email, to electronic address books where you keep contact information for old friends rather than the old pen-and-paper way, people live more of their lives in a digital world where you have to know the secret code to get in.
    And as computer-savvy baby boomers age, fewer people will leave a paper trail when they die.
    “Most spouses probably don’t know the other spouse’s password even to get into their email, let alone the fi nancial accounts,” said Harry V.B. Miller, principal of the Herzog Law Firm in Albany. “People don’t talk about it much in conversation, and they probably don’t write it down anyplace.”
    Estate planners are becoming more aware of the importance of leaving behind information about online accounts, both the important ones like trading stocks and the fun ones like photo- and video-sharing sites and social networking sites such as Facebook accounts.
    “The main issue is, what’s going to happen to this stuff? It’s all floating out there,” Miller said. “Most people don’t write down what, if anything, they want to happen to that stuff after they die.”
LEAVE INSTRUCTIONS
    People who want the accounts to be closed or the photos or videos to be turned over to a certain person need to specify that when they plan their estates.
    And people might want to write down fi nancial account information and passwords and either give it to a trusted loved one or lock it up in a safe at home or a bank safety deposit box. People also can put the information on a CD or flash drive and store it in the same places. ...................>>>>........................>>>>...................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00100&AppName=1

This is very true!! Everyone should keep a book listing all of their accounts and passwords. It would make it so much easier for those left behind to close out or pick up where you left off.

Yeah the problem is they leave the book in the open for anyone to get to it.  It is so very important that it is kept in a secure place and certainly not a document stored in your documents folder.

maybe it should be added to the MOLST form or in folks living wills.....oh, wait....hold on....dont worry.....our 'RealID' will cure these ills.....as did 911 and the
Patriot Act along with Homeland security.....does everyone have their numbers matching so you are not seen as a 'terrorist'? feel safer?.....yeah, dont worry about the
secrecy of the passwords etc......