Best Mac-friendly software to organize personal info for my spouse

Hi Paul, My efforts were triggered by the unexpected death of an acquaintance. The mess he left compounded and prolonged his partner’s grief.

I want my spouse to be able to notify, cancel, stop things without it becoming a stressor. (In many cases the problem won’t be finding the item, it will be hearing or seeing, “You are not authorised…”. Busily, we're making one another co- or secondary account holders.) But, I digress.

I had thought the Community might say to use a database like Access. Now, I think the Community's saying, Keep It Simple. O, and use Legacy Contacts.

There would be market for a product that made it simple, easy, appealing, secure and foolproof. Just sayin'. Cheers Paul.

Matti, How sensible! All it needs is a USB-C to USB adapter. Keeps it simple. I imagine that's quite unlike the radiation, and the organisation to get there.

I'm going to copy your idea of the manuals. Already I make pdf files when unboxing an appliance or gadget. I'll put those files in the Fearless Folder which, in turn, can go to the thumb drive.

I appreciate your selflessness in helping a stranger - me -when you're not not exactly match-fit.

Thank you Viking OSX,

I bought a fireproof, waterproof safe to prevent burglars from taking the passports, birth certificates and spare car keys. (We can manage without the other stuff). I can see now that I'd pin-pointed what was close-to irreplaceable. The very items for the When I Die folder, a.k.a., Fearless Folder.

Valid, current Wills, enduring power of attorney and guardianship, medical power of attorney, advanced care wishes (Australian terms): Paper copies in safe; PDFs in Fearless Folder's horrible spreadsheet.

Fin. Adviser and Accountant: Yes. Lawyer: To do. Apple Legacy: Yes.

I am grateful to you for putting so much into your response. This sort of guidance is invaluable. When I shuffle off, my husband will reap the benefits.

I've drafted the text for my headstone too. To stop them from making spelling errors. :-)

Hi Limnos, I do seem to have wandered off the topic. In my opening request I sought a medium to (1) update; (2) display; (3) interrogate data when I pop off.

Mentioning that my spouse is even less fluent in tech was a plea for ease-of-use.

Have I got your advice as you gave it?

1. Paper AND Digital
2. Format text files as plain text rather than, say, Word. (Is there such a thing as plain text in a spreadsheet?
3. Store digital files in encrypted sparse bundle
4. Tell trusted other the password to encrypted sparse bundle. Note to self: Look up 'encrypted sparse bundle'.

It's a delicate topic Limnos. And here are we discussing it! On an Apple community site.

My thanks.

Idris, Don’t credit me for the date night thing. It’s adapted from an idea in Scott Pape's “The Barefoot Investor”. - Couples schedule monthly discussions of their finances over pleasant meals. (Psychologists might say it normalises speaking about money.) Over time the conversation focus changes. I'd bring it around to what to do when we die.

Jesus Saves, useful! I take your point about the simplicity of Notes to store.

Would prefer to stick with apps I know, rather than learning a new system (FileMaker Pro). I understand, it's a great system and that it's used by businesses for inventory and stock.

As I write, it’s occurred to me that I’m at the at the planning stage. The execution will be esy if I get the plan right!

Please Know that I am delighted to be experiencing the kindness of strangers.

Hi Steve 626, I'm gratified by your writing. As I’ve read the contributions I’ve been reminded that this is the sort of thing we might have hoped for when the Internet first became available to ordinary people in, was it the 1990s? Sharing, learning, collaborating. Internationally. - I'm Australian and I deduce that the respondents are from North America. (How? Vocabulary. Attorney, for example. In Australia, It’s 'lawyer' generally and 'solicitor' for the professional who draws up wills and powers of attorney.)

I think your experience with someone who's declining will register with this audience. It's why we search for a solution.

Yesterday, I made a 2-page list of topics for the project in a Word file. (I saved it as a Text Edit file and could see instantly why I like a bit of formatting!)

It seems I can classify my life into personal professional, business! Energised, I began constructing a file using fillable forms in Word for Mac. The plan was to print it then store it in the safe with the passports, as you did with the lawyer and accountant. I would open the file every few months or so and update it and print it again.

But I got a bit ahead of myself.

Mid-project, my brother rang. I told him what I was doing. He asked me to give him a template when I cracked the code. This is where I came unstuck.

I'd thought the fillable forms template would be the answer. I didn’t know that a Protected form cannot have links.

A practical example of this deficiency is an entry that states the birth certificate is in the safe and here is a link to a certified copy in PDF form.

Maybe, in-document links to PDFs is less important than reference in the document to a folder holding the pdfs.

I'm coming to the opinion that the optimal approach is to give a copy of whatever document I end up with to a trusted young Mac-savvy adult, as well as to my husband. And vice versa.

My thanks to all responders are sincere.