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Comment by astura | Hacker News Reader

Her mother inherited the property (hard drives) from her father when he died as his next of kin. Stephanie got back in contact with her mother and her mother gave her the hard drives after she found them in the house and asked if she could have them.

Later on the drives were subpoenaed as part of a lawsuit and she made a copy of the contents and handed them over.

This is detailed in the New Yorker article linked in TFA.

It's not "scary," it's how property law has always worked.

If you don't want the contents of your hard drive released by your next of kin then encrypt it.

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If the data is not encrypted then all my data can be automatically taken by my spouse and kids, used in any way they want? How is it not scary?

I don't see how this is easily comparable to my monetary properties.

Your property includes your personal papers, letters, notes, manuscripts, diary, dirty underwear, pornographic magazines, any printed copies of your tax returns, doodles on a notebook, the contents of your wallet, etc, not just "monetary properties" (whatever that means).

Once someone is the owner of property they are usually free to do whatever they want with it, including giving it away.

This is how property law has worked for literally centuries.

I don't think I'll be caring much about what my spouse is doing with the contents of my hard drive if I'm dead.

I don’t mean to be glib here but if you are dead do you really care? If you can’t trust your spouse and kids after death then maybe you need to reconsider your relationship choices?

> If the data is not encrypted then all my data can be automatically taken by my spouse and kids, used in any way they want? How is it not scary?

It's not "his" data any more, by definition. He's dead. Your capacity to control things in the world, in any way, stops once you are dead. That's what "dead" means!

There are ways to create contracts with the living that will bind them to your (heh) will even after your death. They tend to be pretty complicated, unsurprisingly. But by default someone gets your stuff when you die, and they aren't you and don't necessarily have your opinions.

If you don't like this, well, I guess plan on immortality?

What is so scary? The humiliation you’d feel while in heaven? How irresponsible or bad your kids or loved ones are going to be?

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