Web site delivers your last messages after death
LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Planning a will entrusts your last wishes to chosen family and friends, but what if you died suddenly? Would your child know of that old locker -- or is there a skeleton you'd want out of the closet?
A new Web site www.YouDeparted.com delivers all your last "e-wishes" to family and friends after you pass away, as well as letting them know where to find important documents like passports and insurance policies.
You can even specify how you would like to be dressed for your own funeral and arrange to have video messages and photos sent to loved ones after you have gone.
In the old days, the trusted family lawyer could be relied upon to handle much of the business of dying. But as modern life gets more complex and families split up or move, death needs more organization, said Collin Harris, 51, the Nevada entrepreneur who devised YouDeparted.com.
"There are 70 million baby boomers in the United States alone. The Web site is a nice organizer for you to put useful information, and when you die it is released to designated family and friends," said Harris.
Harris said his own father died suddenly about a month after falling ill.
"It would have been nice to have had some final messages or pictures from him. We didn't have a clue what he wanted for his final remains. He never mentioned it," he said.
"I got to thinking about all the things I do in my life that my wife wouldn't even know about -- like where to turn off the water outside in the winter. My brother lives in Thailand but has property and storage over here. Who would know all those little details if he suddenly died?"
The Web site utilizes encryption programs used by the U.S. military to ensure security for what is a personal electronic safe deposit box. After you pass away, designated family members can unlock the account with a secret key to retrieve all the information and messages.
Harris said about 100 people have signed up since the Web site was launched in May paying the annual cost of $9.95.
