During those ‘few months’ someone may need to access contact info for friends, business relationships, and generally let people know what happened. Several month delay may add to the difficulty.

What those who ‘remain behind’ need is a map of what is where, how it fits together, and who is who. Do not make assumptions regarding who has survived you.

Where is the money, investments, debts? Where are documents proving ownership, control, deeds? Who should be notified of what?

Where this info is stored and how access is granted, should the need arise, is a old qestion.

I have been in the position of executor for the estate of someone who had recently ‘cleaned up’ her papers. That is, there were almost none when I arrived at the house, several weeks after her death. No bills, no annual statements. Somehow her purse had also gone missing.

I did not even know which bank(s) she had accounts at, let alone how much money was involved. Investments? No idea. Will - I had a copy of that. Which lawyer’s office might have the signed originals?

And so on. Thankfully this was just before online accounts became common, and she did not have or use a computer.

Another person I was executor for, she sent me a letter documenting all her investments, bank accounts, etc. However, a few years later she decided to change all that. She would send me a replacement document with all the new info. She died suddenly before the new document was created. So I had the old map, but no idea how much had changed. Took a lot of effort to track down every old investment and find out of it was still alive, or account closed.

Then to find all the NEW investments, some of which had yet to mail out the first quarterly (or annual) report since she had signed up. I think I found them all. Wasn’t sure for quite a while though ...