Technology

Email Account

When I started managing mom's affairs full time, the first thing I did was create a Gmail account for her.  I used that account anytime I needed to provide an email address to outside services including banking, Social Security, Medicare and other organizations both public and private.

When mom passed away, closing out her accounts became very easy and less confusing. And there was no risk that I would negatively impact my personal accounts; especially banking.

As you get busier with your caregiving tasks, you will be tempted to use your own personal email account to receive information on behalf of the loved one you are caring for. 

Please don't do that! 

Gmail makes it very easy to create email accounts for free.  If your loved one doesn't have their own email account already, create one for them and use it to communicate with outside agencies such as banks, Social Security, state agencies and other public and private organizations.  Keeping this communication separate from your own personal contact info will make it easier to manage both your information and theirs; especially if you share the same service, such as the same banking institution.

And when the end comes, closing out your loved one's accounts becomes much easier if their information is not combined with yours.

The links below connect you to external services where email accounts can be created.  Many of them are free.