#4 - Digital vaults vs. Excel
Reluctant Executor News
If you google "digital vault," you'll get a list of companies that offer online storage of digital information. You create an account, get a nice UI, and it securely stores your data. Many of these are specifically focused on estate information, or the same type of things you can capture in the Estate Map spreadsheet. One of the biggest differences is that the digital vaults charge a monthly or annual fee.
How long do you think you'll need to store estate information before it's needed? 30-40 years? That is a lot of annual payments to make. Will the company be around when you need it? The average lifespan of a business is 8.5 years.
What if your situation is slightly different than their fields allow for?
Spreadsheets give you the flexibility to document the information you need, in the way you want it captured. Plus, you can access spreadsheets for free (e.g. Google Sheets), or still make one-time purchases (e.g. MS Excel).
To be clear, I'm not against digital vaults. Their access and security is strong, and one of the best features is to automatically notify your list of contacts if something happens to you. However, the business model tries to shoehorn a delicate and emotional problem into a traditional SaaS recurring revenue product. Instead, this problem calls for more of a service based solution.
The following posts talk about two different experiences using spreadsheets to tackle estate information.
LinkedIn post from April 5, 2023
I previously mentioned how I tracked all of my parents' estate information in Excel. Excel is a lightweight solution that I'm very comfortable using. Two big advantages that I like are I can add new sheets to a workbook and quickly include calculations and formulas.
For me, keeping all information on a subject in one file is much more efficient that keeping track of multiple files.
More importantly, since my brain likes to work with numbers, I am usually trying to figure out some type of calculation when I take notes. Using a spreadsheet allows me to perform this calculation inline with my notes, helping me keep my train of thought.
This was most useful when I helped my mom keep track of funeral expenses. She had already made some payments before I arrived for the funeral, but that was the last thing she needed to worry about.
Our expenses included the funeral service, flowers, food for the post-funeral lunch, and a payment to unseal the crypt. Some required a deposit, some required a check, and others paying by credit card was ok.
Even though this wasn't super complex, it was still helpful to track deposits, total cost, payment type, and dates paid in a spreadsheet. This helped ensure we didn't duplicate any payments and that they were made on time. We didn't want to risk something going wrong because of a missed or incorrect payment.
Click here to comment or like this post on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn post from September 28, 2023
A friend sent me feedback this week on the Estate Map template after working through it with her mom. She made about a dozen very useful changes. Know how many I'm going to add to the next template version?
One. She found a typo.
What about all the rest of her helpful feedback?
The intent of the Estate Map template is to give families a starting point.
Not just a starting point to draw their Estate Map, but a starting point for conversations with your family.
Every family is unique, and once you start the conversations, you quickly figure out what information is right for your family.
It's not the same for everyone. So the Estate Map spreadsheet is set up to allow for the flexibility that each family needs.
I value her feedback. She has ideas that I will look to understand better and likely include in a future version.
But more importantly, she has a better understanding of her mom's wishes and situation, which will alleviate loads of stress in the future.
Getting started is hard. But once you do, it frees up time to spend on more important things.
Click here to comment or like this post on LinkedIn.
Legacy Planning Coach
A big difference between digital vault apps and Reluctant Executor is the service aspect. If you need help filling out your information, a digital vault will likely send you to a help page or possibly a chatbot. When you work with Reluctant Executor, I will explain why each section is important, what type of information you should capture, and answer any questions you have. Previous clients told me that this process made them realize they had blind spots, and they were able to document information that they missed before.
If you or someone you know needs this type of support, contact me at Bill@ReluctantExecutor.com.