Mother Bequeaths iPad to Sons, Apple Refuses to Unlock it

[RaduTyrsina]

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Andrea Grant, a 59-year-old woman from the UK, passed away due to cancer and she left her sons Josh and Patrick as the co-executors of her will and estate. Grant wanted her estate to be equally split among her five boys.The brothers decide that the eldest son, Patrick, should receive the iPad that she was using. However, neither one of the brothers did not know the Apple ID and password needed to unlock the iPad.

After having requested Apple to unlock the iPad, they had to turn over a death certificate, copy of the will and an attorney's letter, but this wasn’t enough as Apple was asking for written consent - which was obviously impossible -, or a court order in order to unlock the tablet. One of the brothers, Josh Grant, says the following:

It's going to have to go through our solicitor and he charges £200 ($334 USD) an hour so it's a bit of a false economy. I'm a big fan of Apple, their security measures are great but we have provided so much evidence. At 59, my mum was fairly young, I've already lost my dad and it's a bit cold of them not to treat things on a case-by-case basis.

Apple’s security measures for such situations are designed to prevent unauthorised access to Apple users' online iCloud accounts, which could include personal information, such as documents, photos and messages. We can only hope that Apple will make an exception in this case, since it has already been written and spoken about on many important online outlets. Grant also said the following on his personal blog:

I have always been a fan of Apple but this incident has changed my opinion of them completely. Their utter lack of understanding and discretion in a time of great personal sadness has been astonishing. For a company that sells itself on the idea we are all part of one big Apple family, they have been very cold. Understandably, my brother has given up and we now have a redundant iPad. If anyone has any suggestions for an unusable iPad please do send them in. I’ve suggested illuminated placemat and shiny paperweight.

What we can learn from this is that if you plan on bequeathing your Apple device, then you need to make sure that you include the Apple ID and password, as well.

Source: Independent

 

[Ser Aphim]

I think this is stupid. Apple should allow and exception to things like this!

 

[leelai]

Apple has really dropped the ball here.

Fancy asking for the Will, Death Certificate and an Attorney's letter and then after the family complies they ask for more.

Just not nice at all to do this to them at this time!

 

[scifan57]

A court appointed executor of an estate has full legal authority to conduct any business on behalf of the estate. Apple does not have a legitimate reason to refuse the executors request.

The sad thing is, it will probably take someone willing and able to take Apple to court over this to get them to change their policy.

 

[Ser Aphim]

The problem with security freaks like apple, they are just too hard headed.

 

[parcas1]

The problem with security freaks like apple, they are just too hard headed.

Snag is, executing a will requires legal proof of a death and legal title in most countries. Here in the UK I am following probate for my late Mother's will and the paperwork and personal identity proof I have had to provide to close down a joint account we held has been extensive and annoying, but ultimately it protects Mum's estate and the bank.

And you can imagine the Applephobes who are leaping all over this - predictably The Independent here in the UK, probably the BBC eventually - if Apple just handed over the details without all the 'duty of care' legal stuff.

And there is a potential court case whether leaving a computer as property includes the information locked in the computer by its owner, my non-legal mind tells me.

 

[ardchoille]

I believe part of the issue is the example this will set. If Apple were to simply comply after seeing a few pieces of paperwork, it could open the door for thieves to simply start fabricating all manner of fake paperwork after stealing iOS devices. Document fabrication could become a very lucrative business.

I think Apple is trying to avoid setting some dangerous examples.

 

[Pinkpoison]

I believe part of the issue is the example this will set. If Apple were to simply comply after seeing a few pieces of paperwork, it could open the door for thieves to simply start fabricating all manner of fake paperwork after stealing iOS devices. Document fabrication could become a very lucrative business.

I think Apple is trying to avoid setting some dangerous examples.

I agree with you Ard.

 

[skimonkey]

Just me....but....Somehow I feel that there is more to this story than what is being said here.

 

[ardchoille]

Just me....but....Somehow I feel that there is more to this story than what is being said here.

It's not just you, I agree 100%.

 

[AQ_OC]

To be honest, if Apple has a way to unlock this iPad, then hackers can do it too. If I were apple, I would have just said no way from the get go. Now the cat is out of the bag and they will get bad press from this. Also, does apple want to go on record for doing this after someone passes away? People pass all the time. I would not want to provide a service for unlocking iPads as a service. Again, it will be no time before third parties will figure out how to do it and offer it as a service on the web. Finally, the mom could have told some one the lock code or disabled the lock code herself. There is a chance that she might have wanted someone not to know what was on it.

 

[silverado8405]

I don't think its the lock code they're after, it's the mothers Apple ID password from what I read on another article. I say good for apple for standing their ground as pointed out before anything less would lead to document falsification to steal products.

Sent from my iPhone 5S using iPF

 

[AQ_OC]

I don't think its the lock code they're after, it's the mothers Apple ID password from what I read on another article. I say good for apple for standing their ground as pointed out before anything less would lead to document falsification to steal products.

Good catch. I didn't real the article until now...the article uses the wrong term, but what else is new.

But this statement from the article is important:

The insurance firm Saga suggests clients make a list of websites they have signed up to and passwords within their wills to avoid confusion.

My father passed last May and I'm still dealing with his estate. I found out the hard way that he was paying his telelphone bill by calling in every month and doing an electronic draft from his bank account. No statement was coming to his house via the mail. I found out the hard way that he was auto drafting his car insurance directly from this bank account. No statements were coming to his house via the mail. In fact, every electronic convenience he had setup turned into a headache for me. His utility company screwed up big time and mis-read the meter to the tune of an $900 electric bill for a single month, on a house in which no one lived. That auto draft he had set up caused me a world of headache.

My sister passed away about two years ago. Her facebook page is still alive and sends out birthday cards to her friends. And she shows up in my feed whenever this happens. It's creepy.

We all need to think about these issues. I personally have a zillion strong passwords to zillions of places on the net. All of that is going to be a nightmare for someone once I'm gone. Seriously, I'm thinking about undoing all of my electronic things and going back to old fashioned paper (a paper trail has real advantages). And online merchants getting hacked is far to common these days. The state of South Carolina got hacked and exposed banking info for anyone who filed online...then Target (I only used them indirectly through Amazon.com), and more are on the way. These all are unforeseen outcomes for our new internet age. Argh.

 

[Pinkpoison]

My father passed last May and I'm still dealing with his estate. I found out the hard way that he was paying his telelphone bill by calling in every month and doing an electronic draft from his bank account. No statement was coming to his house via the mail. I found out the hard way that he was auto drafting his car insurance directly from this bank account. No statements were coming to his house via the mail. In fact, every electronic convenience he had setup turned into a headache for me. His utility company screwed up big time and mis-read the meter to the tune of an $900 electric bill for a single month, on a house in which no one lived. That auto draft he had set up caused me a world of headache.

My sister passed away about two years ago. Her facebook page is still alive and sends out birthday cards to her friends. And she shows up in my feed whenever this happens. It's creepy.

We all need to think about these issues. I personally have a zillion strong passwords to zillions of places on the net. All of that is going to be a nightmare for someone once I'm gone. Seriously, I'm thinking about undoing all of my electronic things and going back to old fashioned paper (a paper trail has real advantages). And online merchants getting hacked is far to common these days. The state of South Carolina got hacked and exposed banking info for anyone who filed online...then Target (I only used them indirectly through Amazon.com), and more are on the way. These all are unforeseen outcomes for our new internet age. Argh.

This has given me something to think about, Things i never gave a thought to.

 

[leelai]

That's really awful what is happening to you AQ_OC........must be such a headache hunting all those accounts down.

And your sister's fb account still working and transmitting is just so sad for everyone involved. A nice reminder at times but still....

It all shows we really need to think about these things in tying up all our own loose ends.

I have been an executor in the past, before the digital age and I was able to sell their property, settle with Banks and deal with Superannuation, Registration, Insurance Companies and deal with Utility Providers by having the Birth and Death certificates, Will and my own identification documents. If I can accomplish all that with the documents I had why is that not enough for Apple? Is it really because of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act?

We all leave behind personal items, notes, documents, photos etc, that doesn't change, so why should it be different if it's digital based? I think it kinda nice that you learn more about the person who has passed when having to deal with what they leave behind. I found it also helps the grieving process.

I don't really think that thieves would forge these types of documents for the sake of unlocking stolen iPads, there's much bigger fish to fry if you're into that type of enterprise, document fabrication is already a lucrative business. And most thieves wouldn't know the name of the person they've stolen the iPad from in the first place.

There's a lot of institutions/companies who have to deal with matters concerning a deceased estate, all of the above-mentioned for starters. They've all sold a product whatever it may be and they all need to process, close or disburse whatever is in the deceased's estate according to the will. Apple holds the key to opening another part of that same estate, why shouldn't they have to deal with this?

They haven't just flat out denied that an iPad can't be unlocked, so it would seem that 'cat is already out of the bag' also. So what other reason can there be?

I for one would love to have my mothers iPad after she's gone, (touch wood) if she had one, that is!