The five life statuses Estate Kit recognizes
- Able to make decisions independently: you are capable of making your own decisions about both your property and your personal care. This is the default state when no incapacity or passing has been confirmed.
- Incapable of managing property (financial decisions): you are unable to make financial and legal decisions, such as handling money, accounts, property, or contracts.
- Incapable of personal care decisions: you are unable to make decisions about day-to-day well-being, including living arrangements, health care, and safety.
- Incapable of managing property and personal care decisions: you are unable to manage your property AND make personal care decisions.
- Has passed away: you have passed away.
How permissions activate at each incapacity type
Custom permissions are organized around three simple stages: Now, Upon Incapacity, and After Passing. Any custom permission you have set to activate at Incapacity will turn on if a Status Verifier confirms ANY type of incapacity (managing property, personal care decisions, or both).
Legal role baselines activate only at the incapacity type that matches the legal role:
- Power of Attorney for Property activates when a Status Verifier confirms incapacity in managing property, or in both.
- Power of Attorney for Personal Care activates when a Status Verifier confirms incapacity in personal care decisions, or in both.
- Substitute Decision Maker (Medical) activates when a Status Verifier confirms incapacity in personal care decisions, or in both.
Example. If your Status Verifier confirms you are incapable of personal care decisions but you remain capable of managing your property:
- Your Power of Attorney for Personal Care gains their baseline access.
- Your Substitute Decision Maker (Medical) gains their baseline access.
- Your Power of Attorney for Property does NOT gain baseline access, because no financial incapacity has been confirmed.
- Anyone with custom permissions set at Incapacity does gain those permissions, because custom permissions activate for any type of incapacity.
This asymmetry is by design. Legal role baselines track the specific scope of authority each legal role covers. Custom permissions use the simpler three-stage model so you can set them up across many people without managing the legal specifics yourself.
See How sharing and permissions work for how to set up both legal role baselines and custom permissions.
Who triggers a life status change
You designate the people you trust to confirm life status changes. They are called Life Status Verifiers.
A Status Verifier's role is to confirm, not to diagnose. They are not asked to medically assess your capacity. They are asked to confirm a life status change based on objective evidence, such as a formal medical determination by a licensed physician (for example, a doctor's letter) or clear and observable facts (for example, unconsciousness or medical unresponsiveness). The standard is reasonable belief that this reflects your current condition.
A single Status Verifier confirmation initiates a life status change. If you have enabled the Access Delay (recommended), there is a delay before access is granted, during which you can reverse the change. If Access Delay is disabled, the change takes effect immediately. See "The Access Delay" below.
Status Verifiers do not see the contents of your Estate Kit or who else has access. They see only your name and a confirmation screen with general information about the status change they are being asked to confirm.
The Access Delay (your safety net)
The Access Delay is an optional setting (strongly recommended) that gives you a window to reverse a Status Verifier's confirmation before access is granted. It is your safety net against a mistaken, premature, or bad-faith confirmation.
If Access Delay is enabled: When a Status Verifier confirms a change, Estate Kit emails you immediately and starts the delay window. During the window, you can reverse the change with one click. If you do not reverse, access is granted at the end of the window.
If Access Delay is disabled: Access is granted immediately upon Status Verifier confirmation. You will still receive an email notification, but you cannot reverse the change from your side.
Access Delay options: 2 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, or 48 hours. The default is 12 hours.
Your Status Verifier can also update or reverse a status change at any time, regardless of whether Access Delay is enabled. For example, if you recover from incapacity, your Status Verifier can mark you back to "able to make decisions independently," which reverses the access that was granted.
For death specifically, you cannot reverse from your side. A Status Verifier still has the ability to update the status if needed.
We strongly recommend enabling the Access Delay. Pick a window length you can realistically respond within.
Who should I choose as my Life Status Verifier?
Choose someone you trust who is close enough to you to know if you become incapacitated or pass away. This is often a spouse or partner, an adult child, a close family member, or a trusted friend.
They should be reliable, reachable, and willing to confirm a change in your status when needed.
It is important to name more than one Status Verifier so you have backups if someone is unavailable. You can name up to five.
Setting up your Life Status Verifiers
- From the dashboard, go to About You → Key Contacts → Life Status Verifiers.
- Click Add Status Verifier and enter their name, email, and phone number.
- Add up to five Life Status Verifiers.
- Turn on Access Delay (recommended) and set the length (2, 6, 12, 24, or 48 hours; default 12 hours).
- Save. Each new Status Verifier will receive an invitation email explaining their role.
What if I never set up a Life Status Verifier?
Naming Life Status Verifiers is not required for Estate Kit to work, but it is the only way for permissions you have set to activate at incapacity or death to actually take effect.
Without a Status Verifier, your Estate Kit stays in a perpetual state of "able to make decisions independently." Any information you have not shared at the "Now" life status will stay hidden and will not become accessible to anyone if you become incapacitated or pass away.
For this reason, we strongly recommend naming at least one Life Status Verifier, even though it is not technically required.
If you have been asked to be a Life Status Verifier
You will receive an email from Estate Kit explaining your role. Confirm or decline via the secure link.
Your role is to confirm a life status change based on objective circumstances. You are not asked to assess or diagnose.
When you confirm, you will be asked to:
- Select the person's current status: able to make decisions independently, incapable of managing property (financial decisions), incapable of personal care decisions, incapable of both, or has passed away.
- Confirm that your selection reflects your reasonable knowledge and belief, based on evidence such as a formal medical determination by a licensed physician (for example, a doctor's letter or written confirmation) or clear and observable facts (for example, unconsciousness or medical unresponsiveness).
- Acknowledge that your confirmation may grant access to the person's private information to their appointed Power of Attorney for Property, Power of Attorney for Personal Care, Substitute Decision Maker, Executor, or other individuals they have authorized through custom permissions, depending on the status selected.
You will not see the contents of the person's Estate Kit or any of their information. Your only role is to confirm the status change.
You can return to Estate Kit at any time to update the status, including reversing a confirmation if circumstances change (for example, if the person recovers from incapacity).