AFFIDAVIT OF POST-MORTAL CONTACT
The purpose of this document is to establish in advance of your death a set of protocols by which designated individuals (“designees”) will attempt transcommunication with you by way of electronic voice phenomenon or an equivalent method. By completing and submitting this affidavit, you and your designees consent to its use as outlined herein. You further pledge to make all reasonable efforts to transcommunicate with your designees and report to them information regarding the state and circumstances of your post-mortal existence. If designees believe you have made post-mortal contact, they will attempt to confirm your identity by way of three “security” questions and their answers provided by you in this affidavit. Your choices should be sufficiently memorable and evocative to be posthumously meaningful to you. (See next page for further instructions.)
 
Question #1	Question #2	Question #3	
			
Answer #1	Answer #2	Answer #3	

I, _______________________________, the undersigned, hereby attest to the authenticity of this affidavit, which I entrust to a Primary Designee. Should I be deceased and successfully transcommunicate with one or more of the following designees, and this affidavit has helped to verify my identity and posthumous existence, I grant my Primary Designee(s) permission to use these findings in accordance with my values and wishes, contingent upon consent of my legal Primary Beneficiary.

Designees
Name	Primary?	Contact Info	

			

			

Undersigned by	Witnessed by	
		
Date	Date	

Instructions
Composing Questions
A question does not have to be a specific length so long as it fits within the spaces provided. It should be written expressly in the form of a question and solicit from you one and only one response. Compose your question simply and unambiguously, free of riddles and double-meanings. It should resonate in paraphrase as clearly as it does verbatim, so that the gist of it is understood by you  and your designees regardless of how precisely the question is recited.
Keep in mind, your ability to read your own written questions posthumously is an unknown. Therefore, should your question contain a reference to the name of a creative element (such as a book or movie title, a character, a band name, etc.), it should be included in a manner you or someone else will hear and understand to be a name. To test this, read your question aloud as though it were a simple transliteration: no signifying capital letters, and no quotation marks or italics. Then, judge whether the name stands apart syntactically. Consider what might be confusing or ambiguous about the following questions that contain creative references:

Confusing or Ambiguous	Revised	
why is controversy my jam?	Why is the song, “Controversy,” by Prince, my favorite?	
what do i most hate about dude where’s my car?	What do I dislike most about the film, Dude, Where’s My Car?	
whatever happened to nirvana?	What became of the band, Nirvana.	
how many times have i enjoyed dubliners ?	How many times have I read the book, Dubliners, by James Joyce?	
when was i a brownie?	In what year did I become a Brownie member of the Girl Scouts? 	
when do i play the girl with the faraway eyes?	When do I listen to Rolling Stones song, “Girl With the Faraway Eyes”?	
 
Selecting Answers
An answer should be in direct response to one and only one question. You should try to contain it to no more than eight syllables, which is, in general, the upper limit to electronic voice phenomena. In fact, you may wish to select an answer first, then construct a question for it afterward.  Naturally, whatever you select is up to you.  You may wish to take inspiration, however, from the security questions and secret prompts routinely posed by financial institutions. The following are the most common types of responses: 
	▪	first and last name; 
	▪	anniversaries;
	▪	references to personal experiences; 
	▪	customary habits;
	▪	where you met your spouse;
	▪	favorite pastimes and interests; 
	▪	birth year; 
	▪	mother’s maiden name; 
	▪	first car;
	▪	and so on.

How To Complete and Submit This Affidavit
	▪	This document as written is not a legally binding contract, so you may amend it in any manner you like, including, but limited to, the protocols used, the length, number and type of answers permitted, and the degree of permission required. (For example, you may wish to select questions with two or more possible responses that uniquely identify you—the names of three pets, for instance, or the two ex-spouses you divorced, or the five different careers you had, etc.)
	▪	In each delineated column, fill in the top box with one question, and below it provide its corresponding answer.
	▪	In the spaces provided for designees, include the first and last name and contact information for each. Indicate which are “Primary Designees.” These individuals will accept the additional responsibility of keeping your affidavit on record and making executive decisions about how and when it is used, as well as the disposition of any findings obtained by way of it through successful transcommunication. It is recommended that you consult with all your designees in advance of signing it, not only so that they consent beforehand to the responsibilities and duties stipulated in this affidavit, but so that they understand any potentially confusing or nuanced aspects of the questions and answers you have chosen.
	▪	Sign and date the affidavit in the presence of a witness. (At least one Primary Designee is recommended.) Have the witness do the same.  Keep a copy of this affidavit for yourself, but submit the original (the signed form) to keep on file until such time as it is needed. 

Changing Your Mind
If at any point you wish to amend your list of designees, change a “Primary Designee," revise the protocols, or deactivate your affidavit altogether, either contact a Primary Designee or indicate in writing to your Primary Beneficiary your revised wishes for this affidavit.