FAQs

To have a voice in your own departure after your passing. This is not simply for what some might call frivolous (such as choosing a cricket-themed send-off or requesting certain songs at the service); but also for those really important decisions and to help those sending you off to make informed choices on your behalf – such as burial vs. cremation, private or open service, final resting place etc. Some might say, “I’m gone, what do I care”….sure, a genuine position to take, but then you give it five minutes thought and decide actually I would like certain aspects to be just right after all.

Equally important – the job of identifying other peoples’ life assurances, investments, bank accounts, financial records, club memberships and other important documents and information is extremely difficult after that person has passed away and can take weeks of painstaking research. The DWB service allows you to provide some simple pointers, directing your loved ones to vital information quickly and efficiently.

We have three access options for your Nominees (as described on our website), allowing you to choose how secure your Wishes Profile is from them and all others.

Furthermore, we use servers hosted in the UK with the latest 256-bit SSL encryption and ConfigServer firewall and intrusion detection software. We regularly backup your data to Amazon’s data centre in Ireland. These measures are designed to ensure personal information is kept secure and only accessible to the individuals specified.

Not at all. Of course it is fair to say that often the older we get the more complicated our affairs become, so some direction to loved ones after we’ve gone is especially useful. Also, those unfortunate to know they have limited time left are often that much more focussed on their plans. However, we all have funeral preferences, financial records and, possibly messages to leave behind if the unexpected was to happen. Some preparation now (with the ability to change those preferences in the future) is not macabre, it is simply sensible planning.

It could be a matter of minutes, although most users take their time to get it exactly right.

Our design enables you to complete the questions quickly and easily, and conveniently, in a number of visits to the website if you prefer (updates are saved after each visit). It may ask questions you hadn’t previously thought of or require you to research some options and then return to our website at a later date to complete your Wishes Profile.

A ‘nominee’ is a friend, family member, work colleague or professional that has agreed to act as your representative for the DWB service. They will be emailed a password by DWB when you make your Wishes Profile live and they can either immediately access your Wishes Profile at that time or, as many people would prefer, when they have been given a second password held by another nominee (or alternatively by your solicitor) following your death. You control that access through the DWB registration.

The nominee(s) is the person you trust to consider and where possible carry out the preferences you have outlined in your Wishes Profile, also help find financial and important information and pass on your messages to the people you indicated. They are not under a legal obligation, but choose wisely as you would hope they make every effort to fulfil your final wishes.

We started this service with the genuine expectation of being here for decades to come, servicing our member base. If, however we have reason to discontinue the service, you will be contacted and you will be given opportunity to print a copy of your Wishes Profile or take an electronic copy for your files.

The DWB service is not designed to replace a professionally-drafted Will. Please remember, your Wishes Profile outlined on our website is simply a message to your loved ones, friends or colleague to make your after-death preferences known. It does not supersede a Will and is unlikely to have any legal basis.

We recommend you contact our parent company Wray Associates who can assist with Wills & Estate Planning.

Each year, on the anniversary of you making your Wishes Profile live, the nominee will be emailed a reminder of their password and what they are being asked to do.

If they learn of your passing and can’t find their password, they can change it using the “Forgotten Password” link.  If you have opted for a solicitor to hold a second password then when the nominee attempts to log in to your Profile they will be provided with the contact details of that solicitor so that they can request the password held securely by them.

Obviously if your nominee changes their email address, you would be required to update your Profile with their new email address – something you should ask them to keep you are aware of and something we will remind them of in the anniversary notifications we send.

That could happen of course. We suggest you consider more than one nominee to address some of these issues. Any one nominee, with the password(s) can access your Wishes Profile. In any event, you can change the named nominees in your DWB account easily enough.

nominees can chose to remove themselves via their own access – you will be notified if this happens of course.

DWB cannot act in this capacity.

However, your family solicitor can act as your nominee. If you have selected the same solicitor to also be a guardian of your ‘second’ password, you will have effectively given them immediate access to your Wishes Profile – that of course remains your choice. Alternatively, your family solicitor could be your nominee and a second nominee can hold an additional password as described on our website.

Sure, it’s your message!

Although, this is how you’ll be remembered and the passage of time may change how you might have viewed a relationship. We would encourage you to think about the positive and gracious, rather than the acidic or revengeful. Use the messaging section for good – you’ll feel better for it.

Of course. Just log-in as usual, go to the dashboard and your own Wishes Profile and then under Profile Status, click ‘Off-line’ and you have effectively opted out – doing this will mean your information is no longer accessible to anyone before or after your death. If further concerned, just go in and wipe all the entries on the Wishes Profile. 

At least one password is required to gain access to anyone’s Wishes profile. However, they may have registered a second password with a second nominee.

When establishing their Wishes Profile, the member would have chosen to either simply make the information immediately available to you with the password you are given, or added a third-party (one other nominee or a family solicitor) for added confidentiality or simply to restrict access until they had passed away. In this situation, you would need the other password held by the other nominee or the solicitor to unlock access. 

DWB is not designed to put a legal, or for that matter a moral obligation on you. You have been chosen by the Member as he/she had some confidence that you would carry out their final wishes, but ultimately the decision to do so is entirely yours.

If no third-party access control was chosen (other nominee or solicitor), you can access their Wishes Profile immediately (using the password you hold) and act on the information contained therein.

If the Member chose to use a second nominee, you would have been advised of that and given their contact details. You simply need to contact that nominee to agree access and how you proceed with fulfilling their end-of-life preferences. With both passwords, we will unlock the relevant Wishes Profile.

If the member opted to use a family solicitor, you will need to contact them to obtain the password they hold. They will typically release the password upon confirmation of the Member’s passing (often a death certificate). You will then be able to access the relevant Wishes Profile with that password and the one you were already holding. 

We do send you a reminder-email once a year, but we understand you may have mislaid that just when you need it. If so, simply use the ‘forgotten password’ link to re-set it. Once verified, you will be able to create a new password – maybe something more memorable. If problems persist, contact DWB explaining you no longer have the password and include the name and D.O.B. of the person you are the nominee for in your email. We will not respond direct to that email, but if verified, we will resend the password to the nominee(s)’ email addresses we hold on file.

You bet. When you log into our website and go to the ‘Dashboard’, you will see a list of users for whom you are the nominee, as well as your own Wishes Profile, ready to create, amend and make live (online) should you wish.

Your role is to simply provide safe custody of a unique password created by DWB.

When sadly, but inevitably, you are contacted by your client‘s chosen nominee(s) and they evidence the death of your client (typically a copy of the death certificate) you simply provide them with the password you hold, so they can (combined with their own password) access your client’s Wishes Profile on the DontWearBlack.com website.

Ordinarily you will be asked by the individual first to ensure you are happy to hold the password in safe custody, but in any event, you will receive an email from DWB advising you a DWB Member has established an account and selected you to hold the password. The same email will provide the password, the names of nominee(s) and clear instructions. You will be sent another reminder email annually.

No, when you are first chosen by an user of the service, you will be notified and given a secure password by DWB. You can use this single password for all future clients – making it simple to maintain. This is no less secure, as the nominee(s) still have to use the secure password they already hold (combined with your password) to actually access the Wishes Profile.

That remains a decision between you and your client. However, it is anticipated that no charge would be levied for holding the DWB password by members’ family solicitors as there is every possibility the DWB service is an introduction to a new client and, in due course, other legal work may be required – such as a formal Will or estate planning.

You simply contact the DWB Member and they will select a different family solicitor to provide safe custody of the DWB password or use the second nominee option.

You have no obligations. Once you have given the password to the individual(s) your client chose as nominees – people they trusted and anticipated would act on their preferences – your role is complete. The DWB service is entirely voluntary and not legally binding. If the nominee(s) choose not to fulfil the preferences outlined in the Members’ Wishes Profile – that is their prerogative.

The DontWearBlack.com service communicates preferences after a Members’ death. It is not designed to replace or override a professional Will. In any conflict between the two, it would be expected that the Will would take precedence.

Typically the Will and the DWB service focus on different things and should complement each other.

We would actually recommend you direct every client you draw a Will up for to establish a DWB account to capture those evolving choices, important information and beyond-death messages.

Of course that remains an option, but very few people address the kind of choices DWB is designed for in a Will. Furthermore DWB allows your client to make changes simply and quickly as they see fit.

Typically the Will and the DWB service focus on different things and should complement each other. We would actually recommend that every client you draft a Will for, advise on estate and inheritance planning or help through general probate matters also establish a DWB account to capture those evolving choices, important information and beyond-death messages.

It is possible, although not recommended if your client was intent on maintaining a secure (third-party) password custody arrangement. However, assuming they understand this approach will give their solicitor immediate access to their Wishes profile, then that remains their prerogative. 

Absolutely. You’re already on our website now – just follow the five simple steps and create your own Wishes Profile today.