Legal · Updated August 28, 2025
Last will and testament
Where the original is: With David Choi, Esq. Named agent: David Choi
For executors and families
What to do when someone who used GuardKin has died.
Tell us. You do not need an account, and you do not need to know whether they had one. A member of our team reads every report.
For privacy, we never confirm to anyone whether a person had a GuardKin account.
After you report
From the report to the records.
Four steps, in this order. GuardKin’s servers check each one, and nothing opens until all four are done.
You report the death
You
Report it at guardkin.com/report-a-death. You do not need an account. The death certificate has to be on file: GuardKin staff cannot approve a report without it.
GuardKin checks who it was, and the advisor and their firm sign
GuardKin staff, the advisor of record, their firm
A member of GuardKin staff first checks who the report is about. Then the owner’s advisor of record signs, and then an administrator at the advisor’s firm signs. They are three different people. GuardKin staff then give final approval.
72 hours pass, and nothing opens
Time
The time starts at final approval. It is the same for every handover: no setting and no sign-off shortens it. When it ends, GuardKin checks the evidence again before anything opens.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
One mark for each hour. If the report was a mistake, the owner can cancel it in any of them. The tall mark is the earliest anything can open. The executor signs in and accepts the role
The executor, on their own GuardKin
The executor unlocks their own GuardKin with their own Master Password and Secret Key, then writes, in their own words, that they accept the role. Until they do, nothing is released to them. The acceptance is recorded.
What happens after a death.
Records put in order, a handover that waits before anything opens, and an executor who opens only what was released, in 27 seconds.
No sound. Sample household: names and records come from the app’s own demo vault, not a real client.
Read the film as text
GuardKin: what happens after a death
A 27-second silent film. It has no audio track. Everything it says is on screen and is written out below.
[0:00 to 0:04. Light ground. A real screen from the GuardKin app, with sample data: a list of documents, including a family term life policy, the family attorney's contact, a password manager, an Apple ID, and a letter for Marcus. Then a card from the same app: "Anything you have not marked. No key is sealed for it, so there is no way to open it." and "Master Password and Secret Key. Nobody gets these, GuardKin included."]
Sarah kept her records in one place.
GuardKin cannot read them.
[0:05 to 0:10. The Handover page of the app, sample data. A list of ten balances and the heading "0 of 10 balances released". Every row says "Not released" and has a switch that is off. A blue outline marks "0 of 10 balances released".]
She chose what her executor may open.
Nothing is released unless she chooses.
[0:10 to 0:20. Dark blue. A white sheet headed "After a death" lists four steps. Then the number 72 with the word "hours", and 72 small marks fill in one by one, the last taller than the rest.]
After a death:
1. A death certificate is on file.
2. GuardKin confirms who it was.
3. The advisor signs off. Then the firm.
4. Final approval.
72 hours. Nothing opens until then.
[0:20 to 0:24. Light ground. A card reads "Write, in your own words, that you accept this role." and a line is written in it: "I accept this role, for Sarah." Marked "Example wording".]
Marcus signs in to his own GuardKin and accepts the role.
[0:24 to 0:27. The executor's view, sample data: a record titled "Last will and testament" with "Where the original is: With David Choi, Esq." and "Where to take this: Take this to the attorney named on the original instrument. The bank may also accept a certified copy."]
He opens only what Sarah released.
Notes for the reader
- Sarah and Marcus are the sample household built into the app's demo mode. They are not real people.
- The film is about a death. Handover for incapacity is not available, and the film does not mention it.
- The film does not say the executor is told when a death is reported. GuardKin does not send the executor a message; the owner has to have told them.
What you will find
What the executor sees, in order
Once the 72 hours have passed and the executor has signed in, these are the screens they meet.
First, you are told what has happened
Nothing is open yet. The screen says who named you and why you are here. Accepting the role is your decision. You write that you accept it in your own words, and that is recorded.
A GuardKin has been released to you
You’ve been named Sarah Chen’s executor.
Sarah Chen trusted you with this. Sarah Chen’s GuardKin has been released to you because a death was verified and the waiting period has passed. Nothing has been opened yet — that is your decision to make next.
What this means
An executor steps in after a death to settle the estate. The records released to you are the ones that were marked for an executor — not necessarily everything.
- Your role
- Executor
- Opened so far
- Nothing
The next step is to formally accept this role. You’ll be asked to write, in your own words, that you accept it. This is a one-time decision and it is recorded — both for Sarah Chen and for anyone who later reviews how the estate was handled.
Then you see what Sarah released
The list holds the records Sarah marked for the executor, and only those. A record that was not marked is not on it. No key was sealed for it, so there is no way to open it.
After a loss
Sarah Chen’s GuardKin is open.
Sarah Chen trusted you with this. Take whatever time you need.
You’re here because Sarah Chen named you executor.
At a glance
5 records what Sarah left.
- Legal
- 1
- Financial
- 2
- Personal
- 2
Everything released to you
The records Sarah marked for you, and only those. Open any one for where to take it.
Legal
1 record- Last will and testament
Financial
2 records- Oakland home — mortgage
- Wells Fargo — checking
Personal
2 records- David Choi
- Letter to Marcus
Then you open a record, and it says where to take it
Each record opens on its own page, with a line on where to take it: the attorney who holds an original, or the bank, which will ask for a death certificate. An account shows where it is held, not what is in it.
Financial · Updated July 24, 2026
Oakland home — mortgage
Owed to: Wells Fargo
Financial · Updated October 20, 2026
Wells Fargo — checking
Held at: Wells Fargo
Sample household. Names and figures come from the app’s own demo vault, not a real client.
What GuardKin does not do
What it cannot do for you.
So that nobody finds these out in the worst week.
GuardKin does not tell the executor.
No message goes to the executor when a report is made or when a handover opens. The owner has to have told them.
The executor also needs their own GuardKin, with their own Master Password and Secret Key. Without those they cannot pick anything up, and GuardKin cannot reset either.
If you think you may have been named, report the death anyway. We cannot tell you whether an account exists.
A handover opens for a death only.
If someone is alive but cannot act, GuardKin cannot accept a doctor’s letter and open a handover. A power of attorney is the legal arrangement for that situation. GuardKin can record that one exists and where it is kept.
The executor sees what the owner released, not everything they had.
Anything the owner did not mark has no key sealed for it, so there is no way to open it. Do not expect every account to be here.
A copy kept in GuardKin has no legal authority.
A will saved here can be found. Whether it is valid, and who acts on it, is decided under the law, not by GuardKin. Being named executor in GuardKin does not appoint anyone.
A handover cannot open without an advisor of record.
A death report needs the advisor of record and their firm to sign off. If the owner had no advisor of record, the report cannot be approved and nothing opens.
Start with the report.
Receiving costs the executor nothing. GuardKin bills the firm, per advisor. It does not bill an executor.
Preparing your own family instead? This page is for the people who will be looking.
For clients: setting GuardKin up for yourself