In the weeks before Martin Hubbard's father died, the sick elder told his son where to find bank documents, the keys to the workshop and the alarm code to the house.
It got the Victoria, B.C. man thinking about how to best keep track of personal information that doesn't really belong in a will.
The tech entrepreneur launched www.privatematters.com last month because "a person's life is about far more than possessions."
"I can't count the times I'd visit my dad (when he was sick) and he'd always have something to tell me like where the keys to his workshop were . . . clearly he had these things on his mind," said Mr. Hubbard.
"After my dad left us I thought there's got to be a better way to do this."
The site allows a person to leave instructions for their funeral, for their possessions and to compose private e-mail messages for loved ones to be sent out up to a year after they die.
In a nutshell, the fill-in-the-blank forms on the site allow an individual to have the final say on every detail about their life. You can choose to write your own obituary, leave instructions on who should act as pallbearers and explain what type of food your pet dog likes to eat.
Although the document isn't legally binding, Mr. Hubbard says his research indicates that most family members will follow such instructions. He still encourages people to have a legal will since his site mostly covers more personal matters.
The concept of leaving a message from the grave isn't new.
"You should never be surprised at any service you come across on the Internet," said Rick Broadhead, a Toronto-based technology analyst and author.
Mr. Broadhead first came across a virtual cemetery - for dogs - years ago.
"Initially it rubbed me the wrong way. But I'm noticing it more and more," he said.
It's commonplace for funeral homes to have virtual guest books and some even offer a web broadcast of the funeral services.
"It's very, very common now for grieving to take place on-line," said Mr. Broadhead. "What the Internet offers is a way to share your memories of someone with a much larger community, people who may not get to attend the funeral."
About five years ago there was a flurry of on-line activity with dozens of memorial sites, virtual cemeteries and post-death e-mail services popping up. Some are still active like www.livingtributes.com and www.memoriallink.com. However, many others have gone dormant.
"We're completely different," says Mr. Hubbard, who won't say how many people have signed up for his service, but says he gets about 200 hits daily.
"The thing that defines us is that it's this document that you can write in your own time, in your own words, that's as much detailed or as little detailed as you're comfortable with. This is all about choice and empowering you."
Hubbard admits there's a certain "creep factor" associated with using the Internet to settle your personal matters, especially the "You've got mail" method of revealing secrets or thoughts from the grave.
"It polarizes people," he said. "Some think it's too creepy and won't go near it. Others, especially the elderly, as expected, enjoy choice."
Fiona Richards, who is on-line "all day long" in her office, is one of those people who embrace the process.
At 40, some may consider her too young to be deciding how her obituary will read. But she says she's glad she's started tackling her affairs before she got too old to remember.
"It's a more modern way of doing things," said Ms. Richards, who lives in British Columbia and was one of the first people to sign up for Mr. Hubbard's service after learning about it through a friend. "Things have changed over the last 100 years. I'm not sure if wills have kept up with that."
After paying her one-time $69.99 (U.S.) membership fee, she can make as many changes as she wants to her information, adding, editing or subtracting people as she sees fit.
Her favourite feature is being able to leave messages for loved ones. Those messages are sent, via e-mail, once the site gets confirmation you've passed away from two pre-elected sources.
"You can't do that with a will but it's an important thing. It's almost more important than who gets your diamond ring," she said.
Mr. Richards even had her choices document made into a flexible codicil to a legal will.
Still, Mr. Broadhead cautioned that some sites will have a difficult time making consumers feel the information is in fact private and won't be leaked prematurely.
"There are still people that do not want to use their credit cards on-line. You can just imagine the concern people would have about providing instructions about where you stash $20,000 in your house," he said.