LifeFile

Business

GENERAL

What is life.file?

life.file is a web app that helps our users create, store and share a life.file of all the legal life stuff their loved ones will need one day when they’re not around. It’s a bit like “Dropbox for death” but so much more.

What can I expect from the life.file web app?

life.file guides users through the creation of a life.file of all the legal life things they should have sorted out. life.file’s colourful, intuitive interface suggests all of the more obvious legal things like wills and living wills - plus all of the things that users probably aren’t thinking of. Like “what happens to my pets when I’m six feet under?” or “what happens to the domestic worker I employ when I die?”.

life.file’s document builder allows users to create their own bespoke wills in minutes. Users are guided through all the important questions to consider, with friendly educational pop-up resources along the way that explain complicated legal jargon in normal-people-speak. Once a user creates their life.file, it’s stored in life.file’s encrypted digital vaults. Security is very important to life.file, which adopts industry best practices to keep user documents safe. Users are encouraged to share their life.files with a few trusted people in their lives - like a family member or their spouse - for “one day when…”. life.file helps you make sure that the people who’ll be left behind one day have what they need to wrap up your estate. Without the unnecessary admin. And heartache. And guessing at passwords.

Is life.file a smart phone app?

Nope.

life.file is a web app which means you access it from the internet at www.lifefile.co.za. You are, of course, able to access it from any browser including those on your phone.

Do I need to be a computer whiz to make my life.file?

Not at all.

We’ve designed life.file to be simple and intuitive to use. We’ve done this for a few reasons. First - creating a life.file of all your legal life stuff can be a bit of a confronting and overwhelming experience. We want that experience to be as easy and as fuss free as possible for you. Secondly - in a stressful life situation where one of your loved ones needs access to your legal life stuff, we don’t want them to struggle to figure out what’s what in your life.file.

Do I have to have any of my "ducks in a row" to start my life.file?

No.

Your ducks can be running completely wild and you can still start creating your life.file right away. Start simply by uploading your ID book or creating your bespoke will (it’ll take 15 minutes with our user friendly will builder). We’ll guide you through all the things you might want to include - overwhelm and disorganisation don’t have a seat at the life.file table.

What if I don't have a Will yet?

Don’t sweat it. Your life.file subscription includes access to our nifty little Will builder. It’s as easy as pie to use - just follow one simple question at a time and you’ll have a custom will in 15 minutes. If you need help along the way, click the help button and our lovely legal assistant, Poppy, will provide an explanation in normal-people-speak… we don’t have time (and neither do you!) for complicated legal jargon.

Can I share my life.file with anyone?

Yes.

We suggest thinking carefully about who you share your life.file with. Trusted, organised people who you know you’ll have in your life for a long time are great choices. For example - your spouse, a parent or sibling. If you have minor kiddies, you might want to share your life.file with your kids’ guardian. Other people to think about sharing your life.file with are your accountant, executor, lawyer or a close family friend.

MY ACCOUNT

How is my account protected?

At life.file, we take security seriously - from encrypting your information to using world leading cloud infrastructure. Some of the steps we take include: using AWS cloud infrastructure, 512 bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption, a 256 Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate and strict password conditions. You can read more about our digital security protocol here.

What happens if I can't get into my life.file account?

Simply pop through an email to hello@lifefile.co.za and we’ll help you get access to your life.file account.

Who can see my Will?

Only you and any people who have access to your computer.

When you create a Will on the life.file platform, you answer a set of questions. Your answers are encrypted immediately and only come into play when you download your Will. It is through the action of hitting ‘download’ that your answers are decrypted and turned into the physical Will file that ends up in your download folder. We will never see any answers or your Will - whether that downloaded to your computer or uploaded to your life.file.

How do I delete my life.file?

Go to the profile page of your life.file account. Scroll down beyond your personal and password details to the big red delete button. Confirm your password to trigger the deletion.

SUBSCRIPTIONS & BILLING

How much does life.file cost?

life.file is free. Yes, really.

life.file Plus is R348 per year, paid annually.

How do I pay for life.file?

life.file accepts credit card payments with Visa and MasterCard. All payments on the life.file platform are processed by PayFast. PayFast is a South African payment gateway, similar to PayPal. You can read more about PayFast’s security and fraud policy here.

How do I cancel my life.file subscription?

Shoot through an email to hello@lifefile.co.za and we’ll cancel your life.file account for you.

How do I update my credit card details?

Shoot through an email to hello@lifefile.co.za and we’ll update the credit card details on your life.file account for you.

SHARING MY LIFE.FILE

How do I share my life.file?

Go to the ‘share’ page in your life.file account. You’ll be walked through the steps of adding a trusted contact. To add a contact, you’ll need to share their name, surname, contact information and relationship to you. Once you’ve added your trusted contact, they’ll receive an email telling them to contact life.file if they ever need access to your life.file. You’ll also receive an email confirming that your trusted contact has been notified.

Who should I share my life.file with?

The whole point of having a life.file is that it’s accessible by your loved ones one day if things go tits up for you. You should choose trusted contacts who you can rely on to help you and your loved ones in a time of sickness, crisis, emergency or - worse - death. The type of people you might want to consider are:

  • your spouse
  • your adult children
  • a trusted friend
  • your lawyer
  • your accountant
  • your executor
  • the guardians of your children

How does one of my trusted contacts get access to my life.file?

If the unthinkable happens and one of your trusted contacts needs access to your life.file, they need to contact life.file.

  • First, we’ll verify that they are on your trusted contact list.
  • Second, we’ll verify that they are who they say they are.
  • Third, we’ll verify that you’ve been incapacitated or gone to greener pastures.

Once they’ve passed our security protocols, we’ll give them access to your life.file digitally for 30 days. During that time, they can download the files and information they require.

How do I remove someone from my trusted contact list?

It’s as easy as pie! Log in to your life.file account and navigate to the share page. You’ll be able to delete people from your list by hitting the little cross in the top right corner near their name. One click and they’re gone!

Want to get in touch?

Want to become a partner, know more or have expertise to share? Get in touch and see your idea through and get the product market ready!