If someone has died, report it first. The other questions are grouped by who is asking, and the last section says where to write.
Someone has died.
How do I report a death?
Use the report form. It asks who died, who you are, and for the death certificate. The certificate has to be on file before a report can be approved, so attach it with the report if you can. If you cannot, email support.
Report a deathWhat happens after I report it?
A death certificate has to be on file. GuardKin staff confirm who the report is about. The owner’s advisor of record signs off, then an administrator at the advisor’s firm, then staff give final approval. Then 72 hours pass with nothing open.
Read each stepHow long will it take?
There is no fixed time before final approval. After it, the wait is always 72 hours, and nothing shortens it. GuardKin sends no automatic email and no reference number. If we need something, a person writes to the address you gave.
Will GuardKin 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.
What will the executor be able to see?
Only the records the owner chose to release, on their own device. A record the owner did not release does not appear to them at all. An account shows where it is held, not what is in it.
The person is alive but cannot act.
If you become unable to act, GuardKin cannot accept a doctor’s letter and open a handover for your executor. The Handover page marks incapacity “Not yet available”.
A power of attorney is the legal arrangement for that situation. GuardKin can record that you have one and where it is kept.
You use GuardKin.
How do I choose what my executor can open?
Open Handover, then “What stays sealed”. Each record has a switch.
If your executor has not joined GuardKin yet, a record you switch on reads “Waiting for them to join” and nothing is released. Once they have joined and you have confirmed who joined, your device seals it to them and it reads “Released”. A record left off reads “Not released” and stays closed. “Not sealed yet” and “On hold — key mismatch” also mean it is not released.
Setting up, in orderHandover
What stays sealed
Balances
- Vanguard — taxable brokerageBrokerage · VanguardNot released
- Fidelity Roth IRARoth IRA · FidelityNot released
- Wells Fargo — checkingBank account · Wells FargoReleased
- Coinbase — self-custody walletCrypto · CoinbaseNot released
- Oakland home — mortgageMortgage · Wells FargoReleased
Documents and letters
A letter goes to Marcus Chen, whoever it is addressed to.
- Last will and testamentWillReleased
- Letter to MarcusLetterReleased
People
People Marcus Chen may need to contact.
- David ChoiPersonReleased
Always sealed
Never on your executor’s page.
- Anything you have not markedNo key is sealed for it, so there is no way to open it
Sample household. Names and figures come from the app’s own demo vault, not a real client.
I forgot my Master Password, or lost my Secret Key.
GuardKin cannot reset your Master Password or your Secret Key.
Your records are locked with both, and GuardKin never holds either. If you forget your Master Password, your Secret Key and three of your five recovery cards get you back in.
If you lose your Secret Key, GuardKin cannot give it back, and the app’s recovery asks you for it. The cards are not a copy of it: they are your key itself, split five ways, so any three open your records for whoever also holds a copy of the stored data.
I do not have an account.
You cannot open a GuardKin account on your own. Your advisor invites you, and you make your account from that invitation.
Client sign in
Write to us.
For anything on this page.
Say what you were doing and what you saw. There is no fixed reply time. GuardKin does not hold your Master Password or your Secret Key, so never send them to anyone who says they are GuardKin.
support@guardkin.comTo report a security problem.
Write here instead of to support, so it reaches the right person first.
security@guardkin.comTo know whether the service is running.
The status page shows the last check of GuardKin’s servers, and says what it does not measure.
Status