When an individual passes away, loved ones are often faced with the daunting task of identifying and locating important information, ranging from legal documents to cherished memories. This process can be emotionally taxing but also logistically challenging. That’s why we’ve developed a solution to allow a designated Keyholder the ability to request to have the contents of your vault released to them in the event of your passing.
A vault release request can only be made by a Keyholder. Co-Owners follow a separate process called a vault transfer, which results in the transfer of vault ownership and items from the vault owner to the Co-Owner.
Keyholder®
Prisidio allows you to proactively designate a “Keyholder” for your vault. A Keyholder has the ability to trigger a process by which the contents of your vault are released to them. This solution helps ensure an organized transfer of vital information to trusted loved ones during an emotional and difficult time.
Who can be a Keyholder?
A vault owner can designate any participant in their vault to be a Keyholder. The Keyholder section under Vault Settings will display a list of vault participants that can be selected to be a Keyholder.
To add people to the Keyholder list, a vault owner can invite people to their vault from the People section.
To see the Vault Settings, select the gear icon on the top navigation menu.
Adding a Keyholder
A Keyholder can gain access to your vault in the event the vault owner and co-owner (if applicable) pass away.
To get started, select the gear icon in the top navigation menu, then choose Co-Owner on the left menu to view your list of vault participants.
Choose how to add your Keyholder
If the person is already in your vault
Choose the selection circle next to their name to designate them as Keyholder
Enter the following details
Legal First Name
Last Name
Phone Number
This information is used to help verify identity and resolve any issues related to vault custodianship.
If the person is not yet in your vault
Select the Invite Keyholder button at the bottom of your vault participant list
Enter the following details:
Legal First Name
Last Name
Relationship
Phone Number
Email Address
3. Send the invitation
• If they already have a Prisidio account, they can accept the invitation from their email
• If they don’t have an account, they’ll be prompted to create a free Prisidio account first
• After signing in, the invited person will see a blue banner on their dashboard prompting them to accept the Keyholder invitation.
• They must accept this invitation before they are added as your Keyholder.
A vault can have only one Keyholder. This is to ensure clear authority and security over vault access in critical situations. This limitation is intentional: having a single Keyholder helps avoid confusion or disputes about who has the right to request access to the vault’s contents if something happens to the owner.
In certain situations, a Co-Owner or Keyholder may be contacted for any issues related to the vault, including custodianship or any issue that may impact continued access. This outreach is intended to ensure the vault remains accessible to those authorized.
The invited Keyholder must complete CLEAR verification after accepting the invitation. Click here to learn more. We recommend using a phone with a camera to complete the CLEAR verification.
What can a Keyholder do?
When someone accepts an invitation to be a Keyholder, no additional vault permissions are gained. In addition, a Keyholder gains no additional or automatic access to any of your items. The only additional capability is that the Keyholder can request to have a vault released to them.
If a vault is released to the Keyholder, they will be given view only access to everything in your vault for a limited time.
It is not necessary to grant the Keyholder access to any of your items; meaning, you could add someone to your vault, not share any items with them, and make them a Keyholder. If the vault is ever released to the Keyholder, the Keyholder will automatically be given view only access to all items in the vault.
As the Keyholder:
You can request the vault to be released should the vault owner pass away.
You will be contacted by our Support Team to confirm the request to release the vault.
You will be required to provide an official death certificate before a vault is released to you.
You'll be required to verify your identity.
Learn more about the vault release process.
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