How it works
BeforeHand turns scattered information into a living continuity plan: what exists, where it is, who can act, and what should happen next.
Record important accounts, recurring bills, insurance, properties, medical context, digital accounts, final wishes, and the location of originals. Add the information needed to find an account without storing unsafe shortcuts.
Upload executed documents and record details about a durable power of attorney, health directive, will, trust, or beneficiary designation. BeforeHand helps identify planning gaps; it does not create legal authority.
Invite family, caregivers, executors, and professional advisors. Set visibility deliberately so each person receives useful context without unnecessary access.
A reported event does not simply unlock everything. BeforeHand records the evidence required by the plan, keeps executor access restricted until the applicable verification stage, and distinguishes incapacity from estate settlement.
Once the continuity workflow is active, BeforeHand creates account-specific tasks from the plan. The trusted person with full act-on-behalf responsibility is the default assignee, and the family can reassign work when needed.
Three levels of account support
Closing a deceased person's bank account is not the same as cancelling a subscription, and presenting a power of attorney during incapacity is not an account-closure event. The workflow adapts to the institution and the situation.
When email cancellation is accepted and reviewed wording is available, BeforeHand sends the initial closure request automatically and records exactly what was sent. The account is not marked closed until a person confirms the institution completed it.
BeforeHand provides the institution's contact path, required-document checklist, and prepared notice. The assigned family member reviews or submits it, then tracks the response.
Some banks, telecom providers, gyms, and digital services still require a call, fax, branch visit, certified document, or court-issued authority. BeforeHand organizes the work without promising a shortcut.
Google Inactive Account Manager, Apple Legacy Contact, Facebook Legacy Contact, transfer-on-death designations, and current beneficiaries can make later steps substantially easier when configured ahead of time.
Who handles the account?
The owner chooses trusted people and grants specific responsibilities. BeforeHand separately records external authority such as an executor, guardian, power of attorney holder, account co-owner, or authorized institutional contact.
That structure helps the execution dashboard show who is assigned, who may act, which documents they need, and whether the institution is still reviewing the request.
Read the account-closure guide →What BeforeHand is—and is not
Start before it is urgent