Step-by-step guide

How Ever Legacy works, step by step

Setting up your digital legacy plan is straightforward. Here's exactly what you'll do and what happens behind the scenes to protect your loved ones.

Set up your vault

1

Create your account

Sign up with your email address and confirm it. Once you're verified, you can start building your digital vault.

Your account is protected with strong password hashing and secure sessions.

2

Add your first assets

Start by adding the most important items: bank accounts, passwords, insurance policies, crypto wallet keys, or important documents. You can organize them into categories:

  • Financial accounts (banking, investments, insurance)
  • Passwords and logins (email, cloud storage, social media)
  • Documents (IDs, contracts, medical records)
  • Other (personal notes, instructions, messages)

All sensitive data is encrypted using AES-256-GCM before it's stored. You can add more assets over time — there's no rush to add everything at once.

3

Invite beneficiaries

Add the people you trust — your partner, children, parents, co-founder, or executor. For each beneficiary, you'll provide:

  • Their full name and email address
  • Their relationship to you (optional)
  • A personal note (optional)

Then, assign specific assets to each beneficiary. You decide who gets access to what. A beneficiary will only see the assets you've assigned to them.

Beneficiaries don't get access immediately — they'll only receive access if the heartbeat system determines you're no longer active.

Heartbeat & triggers

How heartbeat checks work

Our system periodically sends you a secure heartbeat check — typically every 30 days (you can customize this interval). This is a simple email with a link that confirms you're still active.

When you click the heartbeat link, it resets your activity status. This prevents false triggers if you're just traveling, busy, or haven't logged in for a while.

If you don't respond to a heartbeat check within the grace period (default 7 days), the system marks that check as failed. Multiple failed checks over time trigger the legacy access process.

When beneficiaries get access

The system doesn't trigger after a single missed heartbeat. It requires multiple failed checks over time to ensure you're truly inactive, not just temporarily unavailable.

Once the conditions are met, each beneficiary receives a secure email with a unique access link. This link is valid for one year and allows them to view only the assets you've assigned to them.

How beneficiaries access everything

Secure email notification

When legacy access is triggered, each beneficiary receives an email with a secure, unique link. This link is tied to their specific beneficiary record and cannot be shared or reused by others.

The link takes them to a secure page where they can view:

  • Only the assets you've assigned to them
  • Asset titles, categories, and descriptions
  • Decrypted sensitive data (passwords, account numbers, notes, etc.)
  • Any personal messages or instructions you've included

The link remains valid for one year, so beneficiaries have time to access and save the information they need. They can return to the same link multiple times during that period.

See a simple Ever Legacy plan

Example: Financial accounts

A typical asset group you might create

Checking Account

Bank: Example Bank

Account ending in: ••••1234

Life Insurance Policy

Provider: Example Insurance

Policy number: ABC-123456

Example beneficiary

Someone you trust to receive access

Sarah Johnson

Relationship: Spouse

Email: sarah@example.com

What they would receive

When access is triggered, your beneficiary gets:

  • A secure email with a unique access link
  • Access to only the assets you've assigned to them
  • Full details including account numbers, passwords, and any notes you've added
  • One year to access and save the information

Common questions about the process