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Answers/The life queries

The safest way to store a will and estate documents digitally

The signed, witnessed original of your will still needs to be on paper — no digital format is a legal substitute in most jurisdictions. What a digital copy gives you is a searchable, portable, always-current reference set: latest version, supporting documents, account lists, letters of intent. Keep that set encrypted, and make sure exactly one trusted person knows how to reach it.

What goes in the digital set

A copy of the current will. A schedule of accounts and where the paper originals are. A list of subscriptions to cancel. Letters to specific people. Instructions for pets, funeral, and digital accounts.

How to seal it, and how to pass the key

Put the set in one folder. Seal it into an encrypted bundle. Give the sealed bundle to your executor (email, USB, cloud — doesn't matter, it is ciphertext). Give the passphrase separately, through a different channel and preferably with a written copy in a safe.

Elba's shape fits this well: one HTML file, one sealed bundle, offline forever, source becomes free in 2030 so your executor can always open it.

Questions people actually ask

Can I use a shared cloud folder?
Yes, if the bundle is encrypted client-side. The provider stores an opaque file.
What if my executor loses the passphrase?
The contents are gone. A written backup in a safe, or in a sealed envelope with a lawyer, is the standard fix.

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.

  1. €49MMXXVI· now ·
  2. €39MMXXVII2027
  3. €29MMXXVIII2028
  4. €19MMXXIX2029
  5. FreeMMXXX2030

the price falls each year · free to all 1 jan 2030

Take the island — €49
pay once · no account · nothing leaves

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