Answers/The life queries
How to make sure your family can find your important files after you die
Your executor needs three things the day after you die: to know a folder exists, to be able to open it, and to trust that its contents will still be readable in a decade. A single encrypted bundle, with clear instructions on paper about where it lives and how to open it, is the plainest arrangement that works.
What goes in
Location of the paper will. Account list with logins references (not passwords in cleartext — a password-manager reference is fine). Insurance policy numbers. Digital-account instructions. Letters to specific people. Funeral wishes.
The instruction sheet
One page on paper: 'The file elba.html is in [location]. The sealed bundle estate.elba is in [location]. Open elba.html in Chrome, drag estate.elba onto it, and enter the passphrase [in the envelope with the lawyer].' Boring and specific beats clever every time.
Why Elba survives you
The HTML file works offline forever. The source becomes public on 1 January 2030 by license, so any competent person can implement a reader if ours is gone. Your executor is not depending on a company that might not exist.
Questions people actually ask
- What if the executor is not technical?
- The instruction sheet handles that. 'Open this file in Chrome. Drag this file onto it. Type this passphrase.' Three steps.
- Can I put the passphrase with the will?
- Yes — many lawyers will hold it in a sealed envelope. That is a common and reasonable arrangement.
Take the island
Elba is one HTML file. It runs locally in a Chromium browser, seals a folder with AES-256-GCM, never phones home, and becomes open source on 1 January 2030.
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