What if... who will know what to do with your domains?

Kenny · Feb 22, 2019

Hello Members,

This topic has been discussed before, but with the passing of member @Petra may he rest in peace,
https://www.namepros.com/threads/r-i-p-basel-petra.1123728/page-4#post-7117547
I'm going to bring it back up again.

Petra had a partner, so his domains will be taken care of properly.

But for the rest of us, What If...

If something were to happen to you tomorrow, would your portfolio be taken care of?
Do you have people around you that would know what to do if suddenly you were gone?

How have you protected yourself?

Personally, I have all my PW's in a secure location, and I have an extremely trusted friend that will be sent the information, and what to do with my portfolio if something were to happen to me and either I died or became unable to handle my own affairs.

I know this is a morbid subject, like making out your will, but if you don't want all the years, days, hours of hard work to just be wasted, and your family, friends or loved ones have no clue how to go about handling your business, then it is time to think about it.

What If...

If you have suggestions, please share them here.

Peace,
Kenny

-AR- · Mar 1, 2019

Good topic, I was thinking of the same thing a while back. I wonder whether the same concept would work like it does with the banks, where someone close to you is given the title "administrator" and is given access to your domain at request? This should be the way forward if it isn't already. (I haven't personally prepared for such a eventuality at this stage)

Another important question is, does that person/people you leave access to know the actual value of domains or will they sell everything for peanuts because they do not understand domaining?

NeteurMedia · Mar 3, 2019

NOT LEGAL ADVICE: trusts or powers of attorney (general, limited) are traditionally used to provide control of one's physical/digital assets in case a natural person is unable to control them effectively (due to death or permanent or temporary disability (physical/mental)

legalzoom.com and nolo.com are among prominent sources of diy documents and advisory books on such topics. recommend an attorney familiar with your own personal issues and local laws that may pertain depending on your location, or location of assets to make sure documents adequately cover situations particular to self

disclosure: I have been looking to partner up with suitable parties to provide trustworthy cloud based trustee, custodial and other fiduciary services (for both physical and electronic assets, including crypto assets) - and have reserved corresponding suitable domains accordingly, etrustee.com, ecustodian.com, efiduicary.com, etc

NYJimbo · Mar 3, 2019

When I go, that's it. I got nobody around me, it's just me.

So the domains just hang in limbo until they expire. I won't complain, how could I, I'm expired too.

I'm not joking, many people live alone and have no relatives or people they care about enough to want to hand off their worldly possessions to. So if you go, it doesnt matter what's left behind.

MasterOfMyDomains · Mar 3, 2019

Same as Jimbo, my gf hates domains, why leave them to her.
I always turn auto renew off, last thing i need is renewal notices when i am dead.

Kate · Mar 3, 2019

Incorporate
Keep an accurate and up to date inventory of assets along with renewal dates
Add a column in your spreadsheet/DB to rank domains according to value ie LLL.com = 4 stars (so that an outsider can quickly figure out the portfolio and prioritize items)
Don't be shy. Explain your activity to your SO, friends, a few trusted persons if they are interested, so that at least someone can advise others on immediate steps to be taken to protect your assets
Distribute company shares
Mention corporate assets on your will and recommendations for liquidating portfolio
Renew valuable domains for several years ahead
Maintain autorenew on valuable domains
If possible, add a backup funding source for example a second credit card (can be a prepaid card)
Leave logins and passwords in a safe place (I use a password manager so I only need to leave the master password - the contained logins/password pairs can and do change from time to time).
Choose a trustworthy registrar, one that will not seize your assets silently if they find out you 'dropped' out of this world. Do not assume that every expired name drops or goes to auction. Vultures are circling around ready to seize orphaned assets. Their motto: "If there is nobody around to claim stolen assets, there is no crime".
Which brings us to the next item: document everything. Set up a dedicated folder in your inbox and keep every E-mail related to domain transactions, renewal confirmations etc. Leave an ownership trail.
Optional - Switch whois privacy off. But don't expose your personal details. Use a corporate address + dedicated E-mail + virtual phone number. By doing so, whois data will be at least partially indexed on the web but it leaves some kind of trail which may be of help if an inventory is not immediately handy. There are pros and cons.
...
Last but not least: avoid death if you can. Maintain a healthy lifestyle.
...
If you don't care about what happens after your death, think about your loved ones and how they could benefit from your labor and investments. At the very least don't make the job too difficult on them if they are so inclined.
Also consider the possibility that you may fall into a coma for some time, or be in a critical health situation.
You might be sent to jail (reasonable likelihood if you leave in the land of the free), and not be in a frame of mind to handle your domain affairs.

Kenny · Mar 4, 2019

Kate said:
Incorporate

Keep an accurate and up to date inventory of assets along with renewal dates

Add a column in your spreadsheet/DB to rank domains according to value ie LLL.com = 4 stars (so that an outsider can quickly figure out the portfolio and prioritize items)

Don't be shy. Explain your activity to your SO, friends, a few trusted persons if they are interested, so that at least someone can advise others on immediate steps to be taken to protect your assets

Distribute company shares

Mention corporate assets on your will and recommendations for liquidating portfolio

Renew valuable domains for several years ahead

Maintain autorenew on valuable domains

If possible, add a backup funding source for example a second credit card (can be a prepaid card)

Leave logins and passwords in a safe place (I use a password manager so I only need to leave the master password - the contained logins/password pairs can and do change from time to time).

Choose a trustworthy registrar, one that will not seize your assets silently if they find out you 'dropped' out of this world. Do not assume that every expired name drops or goes to auction. Vultures are circling around ready to seize orphaned assets. Their motto: "If there is nobody around to claim stolen assets, there is no crime".

Which brings us to the next item: document everything. Set up a dedicated folder in your inbox and keep every E-mail related to domain transactions, renewal confirmations etc. Leave an ownership trail.

Optional - Switch whois privacy off. But don't expose your personal details. Use a corporate address + dedicated E-mail + virtual phone number. By doing so, whois data will be at least partially indexed on the web but it leaves some kind of trail which may be of help if an inventory is not immediately handy. There are pros and cons.

...

Last but not least: avoid death if you can. Maintain a healthy lifestyle.

...

If you don't care about what happens after your death, think about your loved ones and how they could benefit from your labor and investments. At the very least don't make the job too difficult on them if they are so inclined.

Also consider the possibility that you may fall into a coma for some time, or be in a critical health situation.

You might be sent to jail (reasonable likelihood if you leave in the land of the free), and not be in a frame of mind to handle your domain affairs.

Bolded and colored by me. ^^^

Thanks, @Kate. I left that out of my OP.

This is the other half.
Perhaps you are in a wreck and unable to manage your affairs.
It would suk to wake up after 6 months and find some of your most valuable domains had dropped.

Really, how would you feel if you woke up and saw Huge Domains owned half of your portfolio.

That's what I am saying here. Imagine if you live.
Jimbo, and MOMD, it's not just about your family, or lack of, it's about protecting your domains.

Or not...

Peace,
Kenny

Kenny · Mar 4, 2019

-AR- said:
Good topic, I was thinking of the same thing a while back. I wonder whether the same concept would work like it does with the banks, where someone close to you is given the title "administrator" and is given access to your domain at request? This should be the way forward if it isn't already. (I haven't personally prepared for such a eventuality at this stage)

Another important question is, does that person/people you leave access to know the actual value of domains or will they sell everything for peanuts because they do not understand domaining?

I know that GD has an Admin option.
I don't know about anybody else, but I am seriously thinking about using that to allow my proxy (who is a well known and trusted domainer, btw) access to my domains, and to confirm with my account manager what is up.

The other part of this is this may be a business opportunity for the right person / company.

Peace,
Kenny

blumutt · Mar 4, 2019

Good topic to bring up. No one wants to think about the "what ifs", especially our own mortality. We all leave someone behind, loved ones or not. Keeping our legacy alive and moving forward, and given the opportunity, may mean the world to someone in our lives. We may never really know for sure, but it sure as hell beats letting them drop onto the laps of "you know who they are".
My portfolio, what it's worth, is left to my family to do whatever they decide to do with it. All instructions, such as p/w, list of domains, registrar(s), etc, as well as what to do and how to do it.
In other words, a Domains101. Personally, I can't let my blood, sweat and tears drop, dead or not.
Great topic @Kenny! Thanks.
Rest in peace, @Petra...

NickB · Mar 5, 2019

I have conversations with my partner of 16 years and our 2 oldest children (youngest is 2 so not yet!) about this "hobby" on a regular basis as it covers such a wide range of sectors, trends etc that help us have good debates!

All records, including passwords, registry details, communications etc etc since I started are stored securely and she has full access - my will includes all domain details plus the everyday boring stuff

for her or the children

This is not saying any of my names have a life changing monetary value attached to them, but you should always make sure anything you own is passed to your next of kin (if you have them)

So when (not if) something happens to me I know it's all good and I can get on with nothing......

Keral_Patel · Mar 6, 2019

I have given basic knowledge of what to do to my wife. Most probably she would go through my phone and get on with chatting to some trusted guys.

She has been specifically told to contact so and so person and give the ID/Passwords that I have wrote down in a notebook in the locker.

And I know that person will 100% help her out if something happens to me.

Other than that right now it is quite risky to sit on good domains for whole life and then they just expire. Family members also have a right to that money if they were with you when you had none.

Thanks.

EbookLover · Mar 12, 2019

NYJimbo said:
When I go, that's it. I got nobody around me, it's just me.

So the domains just hang in limbo until they expire. I won't complain, how could I, I'm expired too.

I'm not joking, many people live alone and have no relatives or people they care about enough to want to hand off their worldly possessions to. So if you go, it doesnt matter what's left behind.

I have people in my life, yet I'm in the same boat as you because no one in my family would ever know what to do with my domains even if I wrote instructions on what to do. they would never be interested.

And personally it does not bother me because when I'm dead, I'm not going to worry about it.

The only way i can see this being an issue is if you're a domain investor and you bring in all or a significant portion of your family's income because of it. This would be a problem so you would want to make sure your loved ones know what to do to at least liquidate your domains to get what they can get.

What if... who will know what to do with your domains?

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Kenny

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-AR-

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NeteurMedia

EssentialDomains.NETEstablished Member

NYJimbo

Domain Re-AnimatorTop Member

MasterOfMyDomains

WVWTop Member

Kate

Domainosaurus RexTop Member

Kenny

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Kenny

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blumutt

Established Member

NickB

it's a mysteryTop Member

Keral_Patel

I'll do itRestricted (Chatroom)

EbookLover

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