JWR,
A good friend of mine recently died unexpectedly from a massive heart attack and had excessive OPSEC. Let’s just say he was prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse but not prepared to die. He kept much of his information to himself, including the combinations to his gun safes, hidden keys, and buried caches among other things. This has created huge problems for his surviving family members. Since none of us are immune from death, proper planning should include passing on critical information in a secure manner. – JEH
Excellent point. My uncle was not a prepper but when he died my aunt was clueless about everything-wills, insurance, bank accounts, etc. She wrote to me that he had “protected her too much” (think about that one for a moment gents!) Luckily my cousins helped her out but it was hard for her, on top of the fact that her husband had just died. I am currently making a file for my wife titled, “If I Die” which will have all of that info in it, in one place-lawyers name, insurance policy numbers and contact info, investment info, retirement info etc. I was shocked at how much stuff needed to be put in there, some of which she would have no idea about. I guess the other point is to not protect your spouse “too much”!
My Dad had a file like that. Unfortunately, he never updated it once he had made it. When he passed, some of the information was ten years out of date. So please, prepare but also review regularly.
My guess is that he hid that information in a place that will become obvious when the family has a chance to sit together and think about it. He gave at least one of them a clue.