You've Been Hit By A Bus
Now What?
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A LAWYER, nor do I play one on TV, nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night. Laws about Death vary by country / state / location. Please check out your local laws before taking my word.
Shawn Oden | codefumonkey@gmail.com | @CodeFuMonkey | codefumonkey.com
You've Been Hit By A Bus
Now What?
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A LAWYER, nor do I play one on TV, nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night. Laws about Death vary by country / state / location. Please check out your local laws before taking my word.
Shawn Oden | codefumonkey@gmail.com | @CodeFuMonkey | codefumonkey.com
Unfortunately For You
your active participation in this story is over.
What about the people and the stuff
you left behind?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_factor
Who Am I?
I'm a DBA and a Programmer.
Been a professional geek for over 25 of those years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_factor
We have a lot of stuff.
Been an amateur geek for most of my life.
I also like playing online games.
I've been with my wife for 36 years.
Who Am I Not?
A lawyer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_factor
Death Is An Uncomfortable Topic
We should address our inevitable demise while we can.
Preparation is easier for you than it will be for your survivors.
Roughly 2/3 of Americans don't even have a will.
https://theconversation.com/68-of-americans-do-not-have-a-will-137686
A Shared Story?
I HAVE A LOT OF GEEK STUFF!
My Wife Is A School Teacher
When I'm gone, she'll be the Home Help Desk, too.
When I'm g, She'll Be The Home Help Desk, Too?
Not An IT Person
Life Expectancy In 2023
World Average: 73.2 Years
Hong Kong (#1): 85.83 Years |Men: 83.00 | Women: 88.66
UK (#30): 82.31 Years | Men: 80.61 | Women: 83.97
US (#47): 79.74 Years | Men: 77.27 | Women: 82.23
https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/life-expectancy
Life Expectancy In 2025
World Average: 73.5 Years
Hong Kong (#1): 85.77 Years |Men: 83.1 | Women: 88.39
UK (#37): 81.6 Years | Men: 79.72 | Women: 83.45
US (#48): 79.61 Years | Men: 77.22 | Women: 82.11
You may think you've got a ways to go and don't need to worry
https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/life-expectancy
Your Chances Of Dying From:
Plane Crash
1 in 11 Million
Falling From a Ladder
1 in 2.3 Million
Falling Out of Bed???
1 in 2 Million
Drowning in the Bathtub
1 in 685,000
Hit By a Bus
1 in 495,000
Car Accident
1 in 8,000
COVID-19
1 in 679
Cancer
1 in 5
Heart Attack
1 in 2.5
Falling Coconut
1 in 250 Million
Basically, stuff happens.
https://www.casino.org/blog/odds-of-dying-different-ways/
https://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/1023453/
what-are-the-odds-21-statistics-that-will-surprise-you/
Chances of Living Forever:
0
(As of today, at least)
Continuity Plan
A documented plan that details how an individual organization will ensure it can continue to perform its essential functions during a wide range of events that impact normal operations.
Modern people still have a lot of physical stuff to go through, but they also have a digital footprint that may be extremely difficult or impossible for someone else to navigate.
These same principals apply to our homes as well.
https://drii.org/resources/viewglossary
Plan for your digital estate.
Plan for your physical estate.
Ellen
Brett
Personal Examples
Things I Learned:
- The Death of a Loved One is Stressful
- Digital Stuff Is Easily Lost
- Found Digital Stuff Can Be Maddening Without Access
- Identity Theft Is A Big Risk
- Important Stuff May Be Found By Pure Luck
- Communicate Shared Security
- And please tell others your wishes re: organ donation / burial vs cremation
Neither of these people would have wanted to put others through the trouble we went through.
Things I've Realized:
- Routers, Networking Gear, Servers, Etc.
- Home NAS = Family Photos, Important Docs, Etc.
- Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, HBOMax, Spotify, etc
- Plex Server + Effort To Transfer Our DVDs
I run several "critical" services at home:
Plus all the other stuff that other people should know about.
- Online Banking
- Bills & Their Payment
- Home & Personal Security
I'm the primary "admin" of various critical family services:
- Domains / Websites
- Blog
I have various "non-critical" personal digital services:
- Cyber Hygiene - Don't want family hacked
- Password Locker - 1Password, LastPass, Etc
- Work Stuff - ID Badge, Laptop, Etc
- Loaned Items - What belongs to someone else?
- Whatever else...
I'm a Geek With Too Many Toys
Gadget Sprawl
Don't Have to Mess with PROD
Container Sprawl
All Of The Above == HOME LAB / GEEK PLAYGROUND
A Home Lab may be good for the tech person,
but will likely be misunderstood by survivors.
Curiosity
Curiosity + Docker
Curiosity + Docker + Work
=>
=>
=>
Good For Resume Writing Skills
Borking the Work Systems
=>
The Hard Thoughts
Will anybody care about this stuff but me?
What happens to this stuff?
What needs to be kept and who keeps it?
Did I do enough to teach my family to stay safe online?
After I'm gone, will the lights stay on?
Why Should You Care?
- You won't be around, so I guess that's up to you.
- Personally, I don't want anyone else to have to go
through the trouble I went through. - It's much easier for me to do it now than for
someone else to do it later. - There may be legalities or liabilities that apply to
your survivors.
After I pass, it's already going to be extremely tough for the people who survive me. I want to do what I can to make it easier for them.
But I've Got A Will
- A will is a great thing to have, since it helps specify what to do with the stuff you own.
- If you don't have a will, the courts can name an executor to help dispose of your estate.
- But a will doesn't cover everything.
- After a will is filed, it becomes a PUBLIC DOCUMENT.
- You don't want to put any passwords or other secrets in there.
- And don't forget to keep it updated.
Again, the laws vary by your location.
Make sure you verify any legalities that may apply.
What If I'm Just Incapacitated?
- Do you have someone you can trust with you or your stuff?
- Power of Attorney
- Tell other people what your wishes are.
- Health Care Directive
- Living Will
- Some accounts can be frozen:
Do you want your stuff deleted before you're actually gone?
| X / Twitter | |
| Microsoft |
Apple |
| Github |
Crypto???
It's Mine. I Can Do What I Want!
Yeah, but is your username actually "your" username?
- Check the Terms and Conditions of your service.
- These are the rules you agreed to when you created your account, and that you occasionally reaffirm when they change, so that you can keep using the account.
- License vs Ownership
- Social Media
- Your Accounts
- Your Content Creations
- Online Games / Media
- iTunes / Amazon Music
- eBooks
- Social Media
Things I Need To Gather:
Which Email do you use?
Gmail
Yahoo
Hotmail
Outlook
Even old ones like AOL & Juno
Are you on Social Media?
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Snapchat
Pintrest
MySpace
Where do you buy stuff?
Amazon
eBay
Etsy
Craigslist
Utilities
Cell phone accounts
Gas and electric accounts
Internet service
Alarm companies
How do you Communicate?
Discord
Slack
Jabber
AIM
Where are your files?
Dropbox
OneDrive
Google Docs
iCloud
Where do you find Books/Music/Videos?
iTunes
Spotify
Rhapsody
Pandora
Google Play
Vevo
Vimeo
Netflix
YouTube
Audible
Amazon
Where's your money?
Savings
Checking
Loans
Lines of credit
Bill payments
Credit cards
401k
FSA
Trading
Budget
Credit monitoring
Stocks
Bonds
Investment Accounts
Brokerage Accounts
What about your Gaming Accounts?
XBox
Playstation Network
Steam
Origin
What about your online dating accounts?
Match.com
eHarmony
OKCupid
Tinder
Grinder
And what about..... ?
Doctor / Hospital portals
Pharmacy stores
Medical Records
Car insurance
Home insurance
Life insurance
Health Insurance
Blog building sites, like Blogger
Domain name registrars, like GoDaddy or 1&1
Third-party hosting, like Wix
Software on your computer
Professional Software
Financial Software
Legal Software
Tax Software
Music
Photos
Movies
Documents
Loyalty Programs
Credit card "cash back" programs
Frequent flyer miles
Personal Papers
Birth Certificate
SSN Card
Passport
Citizenship Papers
Military Discharge (DD214)
Marriage License
Divorce Decree
Child Custody Paperwork
Adoption Paperwork
Home Title / Deed / Mortgage Info
Vehicle Titles
Other Property
Employment Info
Unemployment Info
Employment Contracts
Rental / Lease Contracts
Phone Contracts
Pet Info
Vet Info
Vaccination Info
Ownership Info
Microchip Records
Own A Business?
Payroll
Office Rental Records
Financial Records
Tax Records
And the dozens of other items you don't want to lose.
All This Prep Sucks
- It takes a long time
- It's hard to access some of this info
- Organization! Ugh!
- How / Where to store it?
- Security?
- How can I avoid probate?
- I have too much stuff.
It's very easy to procrastinate - there's always going to be "something better to do".
Even if you just get a little bit done, it'll be that much less that your survivors will have to do without you.
It doesn't all have to be done RIGHT NOW!
I'll probably just throw it away.
But It Does Have To Be Done
- My Wife
- Me
Is it likely that a bus is actually gonna hit you?
Not really.
But is it likely that your survivors will be in a tight spot if that bus does come around?
Absolutely.
Resources:
- Chrissy Lemaire's Checklist For End-of-Life Disaster Response
- Very good crowdsourced info here for a tech person.
- https://github.com/potatoqualitee/eol-dr
- Book: In Case You Get Hit By A Bus
- For the person living in the modern world.
- https://www.amazon.com/Case-You-Get-Hit-Bus/dp/1523510471
- Book: The Personal Internet Address & Password Logbook
- Helpful for the non-tech-savvy survivor.
- KEEP THIS SECURE!
- https://www.amazon.com/Personal-Internet-Address-Password-Book/dp/1441303251
- App: 1Password
- Password locker to securely store and track your logins and passwords.
- https://1password.com
Please don't conider this an endorsement of any of these products. These are simply things I have found useful.
Resources (cont):
- Software: Quicken Willmaker
- Highly trusted estate planning software.
- https://willmaker.com
- Website: Rocket Money
- Excellent (and free) financial management software.
- https://www.rocketmoney.com/
- Another free resource for tracking your credit score and information.
- https://www.creditkarma.com
- Website: Nolo
- Legal do-it-yourself forms and guidance for wills, trusts, etc.
- https://www.nolo.com
- And there's always an Estate Planner.
Please don't conider this an endorsement of any of these products. These are simply things I have found useful.
"My biggest fear is that my wife will sell my
Home Lab for what I told her I spent on it."
- Seen on Twitter
Thank You.
Shawn Oden | codefumonkey@gmail.com | @CodeFuMonkey | codefumonkey.com