What is a Parentfile?
A Parentfile is a secure online account to save everything important, digital and meaningful you want your children to have someday.
We felt it was about time to update the concept of a will, given it's antiquated nature of not being able to handle all the digital and meaningful things we also want our children to have someday. Plus, a will is usually shared when you die, which is not fun at all!
Already have a will or trust? Great, upload it to your Parentfile and then save all the other meaningful stuff in it.
Don't have a will or trust? In your Parentfile you'll find a living trust you can set up whenever you like, we've got you covered there as well.
It’s about time there was an easier, more meaningful, and fun way to save and share things with our children as we all get older...welcome to your Parentfile.
What are some examples of what parents are saving in their Parentfile?
- Best Childhood & Family Memories
- Family Ancestry, Recipes, Traditions & More for Them to Have Someday
- Medical & Injury Details (So You Remember 10 Years From Now)
- Digital Copies of Birth Certificates, Social Security Cards
- Developmental Milestones & Notes (So You Don’t Ever Forget!)
- Just Your Best Family Pictures (Leave the Others on Your Phone/Computer!)
- Digital Backups of Important Family Documents
- Your Life Story & Lessons Learned Throughout Life
- Surprise Video Messages to be Shared With Your Children at Specific Life Stages!
How is a Parentfile different than a will or trust?
Technically speaking, a will or trust is primarily for everything with a specific financial value (or related to a health directive). The problem is we live in a digital age where so much of what we want our children to have someday just doesn’t have a place in a legal document - family ancestry, traditions and recipes, life lessons, family memories and so much more - the truly priceless things.
Our mission is for Parentfile to be a new and improved way to pass things down to your children. You can set up your Parentfile in 2-minutes, and it's so easy and fun to add things to as everyone gets older.
And if you do already have a will or trust, you can upload it to your Parentfile so you have everything all in one place. And if you don't already have one, we'll put a trust in your Parentfile for free to make it easy for when you're ready to set that up...but we think you may find over time what's most valuable are the things that are the most meaningful.
Why is having a Parentfile so valuable?
From saving important stuff, to fun stuff, to your best family memories, and even medical details that are so easily forgotten over the years, your Parentfile can quickly become one of the most “valuable assets” for your family, and certainly one of the most meaningful.
Our mission is to create a new and improved way to pass things down to your children, capture meaningful details that are often forgotten in the chaos of life, and open the lines of communication in fun and new ways as everyone gets older.
When is the right time to start a Parentfile?
If you have young kids, having a Parentfile enables you and your spouse to be in-sync savings things and capturing the magic of the childhood years.
If your children are adults now, start adding things to your Parentfile that are digital and meaningful you want them to have someday…sharing what makes your family special is also a great way to open the lines of communication and have new things to talk about.
If you have children and grandchildren, having a Parentfile enables you to preserve a family legacy for future generations…a priceless gift.
Parentfile is so valuable at every life stage. The sooner you start yours, the more valuable and meaningful things you can add over time.
How does it work?
1. Starting a Parentfile takes only 2-minutes and is so easy.
2. You can allow others to add things to your Parentfile, such as your spouse, at no additional cost.
3. Every time you add something to your Parentfile, you’ll see the number of things you have saved go up.
4. Your Parentfile is encrypted with leading SSL security and double-backup redundancy, keeping it safe and secure.
5. You decide when your children get access - a certain age, life stage or date in the future.
6. See how fun it is to watch the number of things you have saved in your Parentfile go up over time….it may even become your most valuable and meaningful asset.
When and how do I decide when to give access to my children, grandchildren or even other family members?
In your Parentfile you can designate a specific age, life stage or even specific date to share your Parentfile with someone in your family.
It could be when your child turns 18, when you turn 60, or when your grandchild turns 12. It could be when they graduate high school, have a baby, or even get married. It’s completely up to you, and you can pick something different for each family member.
The way your Parentfile is set up is that there are individual folders for each family member, one for the entire family, and one marked private just for you (and your spouse if you so choose). Within each folder, you designate who has access to that folder.
For example, if a folder is for your child Charlie, and you decide he gets access to his folder in Parentfile at age 18, he’ll be sent an email notifying him of this on that specific date (or you can of course tell him as well). He’ll then get his own username/password that will enable him to access just this folder, as well as the Entire Family folder of the Parentfile. You can of course still keep adding things as well. We hear repeatedly it is such a fun way to open the lines of communication with your children (and entire family) as everyone gets older.
Let’s say unfortunately you passed away before Charlie’s 18th birthday, we would make sure to find Charlie to get him access to Parentfile. When entering Charlie’s email, you’d share three ParentFile ID Questions that are unique so that we’d have qualifying questions to ask Charlie if his email was no longer valid and we had to find him another way. Rest assured, we’d make sure Charlie got access to Parentfile and the priceless family treasures that were saved.
In addition to giving someone full access, you can also pick one specific thing to share on a specific date or life stage. We call these Milestone Surprises and they are so fun to look forward to…see the next FAQ for how these work.
Why are milestone surprises so fun?
In your Parentfile you can establish milestone surprises to share with your children as you (and they) get older.
1. Identify a “life stage” for when to give your child their surprise. Some examples include starting middle school, graduating from college, having their first baby, or even tie it to when you turn a specific age!
2. Select what you want to give them. For example, it might be a specific book, a trip to Italy, a family heirloom such as a ring, or a letter you wrote them. It doesn't matter if it's big or small - as long as it's meaningful to you.
3. Write a message to accompany the surprise in which you explain why it is meaningful to you and why you want them to have it for this specific milestone.
And you can do all this in your Parentfile. Wait until you see how fun it is to look forward to sharing with them!
Why is Parentfile so popular with today’s generation of parents?
Here are just a few of the hundreds of reasons shared by great Moms and Dads with a Parentfile…
Reason #7 - Takes only 2 minutes to start, and I’m set for life for where to save things for my children.
Reason #25 - Even though we have a will, all of the meaningful stuff we want them to have someday is in our Parentfile.
Reason #88 - We don’t have a will, and this enables me to at least be immediately prepared heaven forbid something happened to me so I don’t leave my family in a bind.
Reason #324 - Because starting to write Birthday Letters and saving them in my Parentfile will be the most meaningful gift I could ever give them someday.
Reason #180 - So that if I ever misplace a birth certificate or social security card - or we have a fire or other disaster, I’ve got digital backups that save the day.
Reason #99 - Because someday long when I’m gone, they’ll still have their Parentfile with all the truly priceless stuff I saved in it.
Can my spouse make additions to our Parentfile?
Yes! When you start your Parentfile you can immediately enable your spouse to access and make additions and updates to your Parentfile.
Is my information safe and secure in my Parentfile?
Absolutely yes. We take the issue of safety and security incredibly seriously. To that end we created the Parentfile Peace-of-Mind Pledge to help you understand how we protect your information.
We use industry leading SSL security, top-level encryption, website security protection and monitoring software. On top of this we have a double-backup redundancy in place to make sure that everything is backed up constantly and in multiple ways.
How often should I save things in my Parentfile?
Given that you save ONLY the things that truly matter in your Parentfile, we have customers that update theirs anywhere between once a month to once a year. Others do it only on family member birthdays, only on holidays, or just at the beginning and end of school years.
And some only do it once a year on New Year’s, or with the assistance of a Parentfile Guide on the phone who walks them through it every year (our VIP Plan). The key is to figure out your own pattern of when you add things that feels manageable and right for you.
There is something freeing about only updating it at certain times of the year and only putting in the most important things…finally something that distills our digital overload into something manageable!
What do others say about having a Parentfile?
“You may not have millions to give your kids, that’s okay, a Parentfile is priceless.” - ShreeRam Ranganathan
"Life is so much easier with Parentfile." - Dr. Tracy Thomas
“Organizes and saves family critical documentation in a secure way." - Joy Ross
"I sleep better at night having a Parentfile.” - Gary Kiang
"Parentfile is a new way for parents to show love for their children.” - David Sawicki
“The secret weapon for our generation of Moms & Dads.” - Louis Fanzini
“In the age of data and digitization, capturing our roots is key.” - Mido Chishty
“Parentfile is the digital embodiment of passing on the family legacy.” - Dean Stancevski
“Everything, everywhere, all in one place.” - Joyce Hunter, CIO, USDA
Simple to set up. Forever meaningful.
Simple to set up. Forever meaningful.
And you’re the hero that started a Parentfile!
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