1Password Access after Death, Legacy Contacts

gvanschip

Good point. I actually added my mother to my family account and made sure that she shares all her items in a shared vault. Likewise, I have added both my children to my account and created an item with access details for my account. All manual options so having something automated build in would be great. I do realize that it would need a lot of careful consideration from a security standpoint.

ag_tommy

I'm glad you've found some ideas in this topic. I've shared your comments internally.

thimplicity

Please add me to the list of people who are interested in a functionality similar to Bitwarden. The solution should not include storing something in a safe, as people might not live close to another

MerryBit

This feature has been requested literally for over a decade, so I would not hold my breath. 😊

Here is the oldest thread I could find asking for such a feature, it is from 2011:

https://1password.community/discussion/2278/feature-request-emergency-password-for-family-in-case-of-death

ag_tommy

@MerryBit

Yes, it has been requested as you mention. However, 1Password 8 which makes many more things possible did not exist then. The revamp of 1Password.com is underway and recovery codes are in beta. I hope this is something we can bring to light. Many more things are possible now that were not possible back then. I'm not saying it could happen over night but there is a possibility.

MerryBit

Recovery codes? How do they work and where can I try them out?

ag_tommy

Hey @MerryBit

Assuming you have an individual account they are in beta testing. Other account types should be on the horizon.

https://1password.community/discussion/145444/recovery-codes-for-individuals-beta

MerryBit

Thanks @ag_tommy !

ag_tommy

You're most welcome.

thedean

I used to have an individual 1Password account. I upgraded to a Family account specifically because of my concern about legacy access. Let me share with the group how I have configured my family account to handle legacy access:

1. I am a family organizer for my family account.

2. I made the executor of my will (she is also the successor trustee of my trust, and my designated power of attorney) a second family organizer.

3. I have shared a vault with her that contains just one entry: my email address and password.

4. In the event of my incapacity or death, my executor/trustee can use her authority as a family organizer to begin the account recovery process. And since she has access to my email account, she can can use it to reset my master password and secret key, and thereby gain access to all the rest of my vaults. Since I am notified via email of any attempt to begin the recovery process, I feel 99% confident that she will not abuse her family organizer powers while I am still of sound mind. (FYI, while I have 2FA enabled on all my other accounts, it is disabled in 1Password because I don't think it is necessary there, and therefore it does not interfere with this recovery process.)

It's not perfect. But is good enough for me. My master password and secret key are known only to me, and no one else. And it allows me to sleep well at night, knowing that in the event of my incapacity or death, the people with a need to know can get access to everything in all my vaults.

I hope this strategy will help others.

ag_tommy

Thank for sharing @thedean.