The Access Problem: When Clients (or Their Families) Cannot Reach What Matters
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A client departs New York for business on a morning flight and is in London by the evening of
the same day.
Midair, they receive a potential fraud alert from their bank. Once back on the ground, they
biometrically unlock their banking app on a train ride to the hotel and chat with a customer
service rep in the States in real time. Later that evening, they meet colleagues for dinner and
tap their smartwatch to pay the bill.
Back at the hotel, they try to access work documents on the cloud to prepare for the next day's
presentation, but something is wrong.
Unbeknownst to them, the same new-location logins that triggered their bank's fraud alert have
also tripped their company's security system, which flags sign-ins from unfamiliar countries or
devices as potential threats and locks the account until identity is reverified.
They are locked out of their account. Everything they need is stored digitally. They do not have
physical copies of a single document. If they cannot log in, the entire trip could be for nothing.
Panic starts to set in. What now?
While a digital lockout could derail a business trip, an estate planning emergency could have
even greater consequences.
The Estate Planning Digital Paradox
An irony of modern estate planning is that the more secure we make our digital lives, the more
vulnerable we are to a total planning lockdown when a crisis hits.
Security features such as biometrics, multifactor authentication (MFA), and encryption do their
jobs perfectly: They keep bad actors out. But in a medical or travel emergency, these same
defenses can completely lock out fiduciaries and family members.
When a crisis strikes, legal authority alone is no longer enough. A power of attorney or trust
agreement means nothing if the designated agent cannot bypass a text-message verification
screen. A plan is not worth the paper it is written on if the right people cannot reach the right
resources behind a digital lockscreen.
Tracking the Digital Access Chain
A client may know every one of their passwords, make this information available to their
decision-makers, and still face a digital lockout. The real risk often lies in the hidden links of the
verification chain:
- Single-device and identity dependence. Many accounts are strictly tied to a specific
physical device, phone number, or biometric scan (e.g., Face ID). If that device is lost,
damaged, or traveling with an incapacitated client, access stops instantly. Account recovery
reliant on a single email address that is itself locked behind that unavailable device can trap
the entire planning ecosystem in a loop.
- MFA lockout. Multifactor authentication adds valuable cybersecurity, but it creates a second
locked door in a crisis. A successor trustee may hold the correct master password, but if
their login attempt triggers a verification code sent via text to a smartphone that is locked
away with the client's belongings, out of battery, or simply out of signal range in a foreign
country, the fiduciary is effectively locked out.
- Location-based restrictions. Financial fraud algorithms are designed to flag anomalous
behavior. A login attempt from another country, an unfamiliar device, or an unexpected IP
address can trigger automated fraud controls, demanding additional identity challenges or
imposing a temporary account freeze.
- Institutional verification delays. Even when a decision-maker holds clear legal authority,
the institution itself can become a barrier. Fiduciaries may face extensive delays while
compliance departments require separate proof of identity, internal document reviews, or
proprietary security questions before granting administrative access.
The key question is no longer "Who has authority?" but "What does that person need to locate,
verify, unlock, or receive before that authority becomes usable?"
How Travel Can Test Financial and Estate Planning
Travel tests the operational mechanics of an estate plan like nothing else. What works from
home may not work from somewhere else, so a plan should be stress-tested for accessibility -
from both sides of the digital vault:
- The traveling client lockout. A client who normally logs in without issue from a familiar
device and location may encounter added identity challenges, geographic fraud controls, or
an automated freeze while traveling. A foreign IP address, disabled international service, or
lost device can result in an account lockout that cuts off access to important financial
information or emergency funds.
- The family or fiduciary lockout. If a travel emergency leaves the client incapacitated,
family members or fiduciaries back home may have the legal authority to step in but
encounter access issues. Automated fraud controls do not readily distinguish between an
unauthorized user and a spouse, agent, or trustee responding to a crisis. The master
password may be known, yet the required verification code gets sent to the client's
unreachable phone. Legal authority exists, but the institution continues treating the decisionmaker
like a stranger while it completes a review.
The accessibility stress test ultimately comes down to a pair of questions:
- Could the client continue to locate, verify, unlock, and use what matters while away?
- If the client could not act, could the right person at home do the same without relying on the
client's phone, email, device, or immediate cooperation?
Build an Access Plan, Not Just an Estate Plan
The solution to the digital paradox is not to weaken cybersecurity or spread passwords among
family members. It is to build operational redundancy into a structured access system that
identifies important accounts and documents, describes where they are stored, and explains
how an authorized person can access them when needed.
That system may include secure digital storage, backup authentication methods, recovery
instructions, current account and professional contacts, and guidance about who should receive
access - and when.
By moving the planning conversation beyond asset allocation to real-world access, advisors can
give mobile clients protection that moves with them.
Clients can then hit the road knowing that, whatever happens, their plan will not become the
estate planning equivalent of lost luggage.
MEREDITH | PC
4325 Windsor Centre Trail
Suite 400
Flower Mound Texas 75028
214-513-1013
This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be construed as written advice about a Federal tax matter. Readers should consult with their own professional advisors to evaluate or pursue tax, accounting, financial, or legal planning strategies.
You have received this newsletter because I believe you will find its content valuable. Please feel free to Contact Me if you have any questions about this or any matters relating to estate planning.
