The Connected Trio

The Identities, Subscriptions and Memberships, and Digital Legacy Modules are three chapters in the book — and one system in practice. Enter once, reference everywhere: this page shows the structure the book describes, with the complete worked example and the maintenance schedule.

Enter once, reference everywhere

Kept as three separate lists, the same email address gets entered thirty times — once in Identities, once for every subscription it controls, once for every disposition decision. When it changes, thirty entries are wrong. In the integrated structure you enter it once, in the master list, and every other row references it. When it changes, you update one cell and the whole system reflects it.

The worked example

Frank, Sarah, and their daughter Lily have completed the three Modules and integrated the results. This is what the finished structure looks like — three linked sections, no duplication. (The details are illustrative; the structure is the point.)

Section 1: Family Identities — the master list

Created once. Every other section references it.

Section 2: Subscriptions and Memberships — tied to identities

Notice: email addresses are never re-entered. Each row references "Person – email" from Section 1.

Section 3: Digital Legacy Disposition — references both

What should happen to each identity and service — referencing Sections 1 and 2, adding only the new decisions.

Why this works

Beyond eliminating duplication, the integrated view enables better decisions. Seeing everything tied to one person in one place, you notice the three streaming services one family plan would replace. You see which subscriptions carry real value — the newspaper, the airline miles — and should transfer, while the rest simply cancel. You understand which email account is the master key that needs the longest access window. And you can slice the picture any way a hard day requires: by person, by type, by disposition, by value.

Ways to implement it

• Spreadsheet (recommended for most families)Three linked tabs — Identities, Subscriptions, Legacy — with dropdowns referencing the identities tab. Visual, filterable, portable. Store it encrypted, in your Vault.
• Password manager structured notesOne secure note per identity, subscription, and disposition, referencing by name. Already encrypted, with emergency access built in — but less visual.
• Relational database or purpose-built appLinked tables with true references, reminders, and filtering. The most powerful option, and more setup than most families need.

Getting started

1. Week 1 — Identities. Document yourself first, then your spouse and children. Note where the physical documents live.
2. Week 2 — High-priority subscriptions. Review three months of card statements; document the 5–10 most expensive or most important, referencing Section 1.
3. Week 3 — Basic legacy preferences. For your primary email and your top handful of subscriptions: delete, transfer, or archive — and on what timeline.
4. Week 4 — Expand and refine. Add the rest as you discover them, research loyalty-program transferability, and set the quarterly review reminder.

The system grows with you — you don't need to capture everything perfectly on day one.

Maintenance schedule

• Monthly: add new subscriptions when you sign up; note when free trials convert; update any changed email address (once, in Section 1).
• Quarterly: prune unused services; update costs; verify disposition preferences still make sense; check for forgotten subscriptions.
• Annually: full review of all three sections — ID expiration dates, platform legacy-policy changes, emergency-access configuration, and current values for miles, points, and digital assets.

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