The Safe4 Digital Inheritance Vault

How does the vault work?

The Safe4 Digital Inheritance Vault is an internet-based service that allows your will writer to place all of the information required for your inheritance plan to be held in a secure facility that you can access at any time, from anywhere with an internet connection.

It will also be possible for you to upload information to the vault yourself, and to edit and update documents that are held there, as well as keeping lists of your assets and liabilities up-to-date.

Whether you access it frequently or only occasionally, the vault will allow you to ensure that your inheritance plan is always complete and up-to-date.

Your vault will only be available to you and your will-writer. Nobody else will have access to it, unless you specifically request that access be granted to your executor, or members of your family for example. It will also contain an area that is completely private to you that not even your will-writer can see.

As mentioned above, if you choose, you can allow other people such as your executor and members of your family to have access to sections of the vault.

The vault capacity is nominally 1 gigabyte. This can typically hold at least 1,000 scanned documents, or more if the majority are electronic files such as spreadsheets. You will also be able to store short video or audio files within this allocation of space. If you need more capacity, this can be made available at a small extra charge through your will-writer.

Store everything needed for probate

All of the information that your executor will need to carry out probate can be held in the vault. This will include an electronic copy of your will, as well as any other elements such as trusts, lasting powers of attorney, or deeds.

Copies of critical documents such as insurance policies, as well as details of bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages, bonds, and equities.

Other potential issues encountered when carrying out probate include such elements as partly-used subscriptions or pre-paid services. These include gym and club memberships, AA or RAC cover, annually-paid insurances for the car and home, car tax and TV licence among others.

Many of us now use services such as PayPal or eBay, and indeed online gambling services. Money held in any of these accounts can add to the value of the estate if a record is kept within the vault.

Hold other important information

As well as the information specifically intended for probate, other important data and files can be held in the vault. These can include scanned copies of the photo page of your passport, your driving licence (losing either of these while travelling can be costly and very inconvenient), and other information such as education records, certificates and warranties relating to home modifications, service records for your car, and many other items of information that you really do not want to lose.

The Safe4 Digital Inheritance Vault will also hold information relating to funeral plans, and your specific wishes relating to your funeral such as music or flowers, and any texts or readings that you feel are appropriate.

Your digital legacy

Although we may not realise the full extent, almost all of us use electronic services to handle many parts of our lives. We all use email to communicate with family and friends. Years of treasured and valuable correspondence can be lost if email passwords are not available as part of the legacy we leave behind. The leading email service providers will not release email accounts for your successors, no matter what legal proceedings are undertaken.

Other online activities will include our digital presence on services such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, LinkedIn, and other social media. It can be very distressing for anniversary or birthday messages to keep popping up for loved ones who may have passed away years earlier. If access to such accounts is made available through information stored in the inheritance vault they can be closed down properly.

There are a number of lawsuits being conducted with respect to iTunes. Often considerable investments are made in purchasing music in iTunes, but your successors will not be able to inherit the contents due to licencing restrictions. Leaving the access details in a secure vault will at least allow others to make use of this type of service.

What about security?

Safe4 have made strenuous efforts to make the service as secure as possible. Recent independent tests show that it is among the safest 1% of sites on the internet, out of more than 1.2 million tested.

Penetration tests have been carried out by independent agencies accredited under the UK Government’s IT CHECK scheme. These have shown excellent results.

All of the information held within Safe4 is stored securely in the United Kingdom. It will thus not be subject to intrusive interception by foreign governments or authorities.

Because Safe4 uses a highly-configured internet connection, it can be used safely from devices in public areas, such as airports, hotels, or internet cafes.

The Safe4 Digital Inheritance Vault

How does the vault work?

Store everything needed for probate

Hold other important information

Your digital legacy

What about security?

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