Being someone’s Assigned Contact means telling us when they’ve passed away. Nothing more. Here is what that asks of you, and what it doesn’t.
Someone has asked me to be their Assigned Contact. What does that mean?
They’ve written letters, recorded messages or set aside keepsakes for the people they love, to be sent after they’re gone. They’ve trusted you with the one thing that can’t be done without a person: letting us know when that time has come.
What do I actually have to do?
One thing. If we ever write to you, you answer: either they’ve passed away, or they’re fine. That is the whole job.
There is nothing to keep, nothing to remember and nothing to do in the meantime. You don’t hold anything, send anything or decide anything. The words, the people and the days are already set, by them.
Am I their executor? Am I responsible for their estate?
No. Being an Assigned Contact gives you no responsibility for their estate, their affairs or their TimeLink account, and no authority over any of it. It isn’t a legal role. You are simply the person who tells us they are no longer here.
Can I read their messages?
No. If we ask you, you’ll see who has something waiting and how many things there are — never what they say, or even what they’re called. If something was created for you, it reaches you the same way it reaches everyone else.
Do I have to be family?
No. A friend, a neighbor, a colleague — anyone they trust to know when the time has come, and who will answer an email.
What if I don't feel able to do this?
You can say no, and it’s better to say so now than later. Tell the person who asked you, so they can choose someone else.
If the time comes and you can’t face it, every email we send you has a link that passes it to the next person they named.
What happens when the time comes?
- TimeLink checks in with them regularly. If they stop answering, we keep trying — three check-ins in a row go unanswered before we contact anyone else. Signing in to TimeLink counts as answering.
- Then we email you. If they named more than one person, we start with the first. If we don’t hear back, we remind you after a week, and after two weeks we ask the next person instead.
- The email has one link. On that page you choose: they’ve passed away, or they’re fine. If they’re fine, that’s the end of it — we start checking in with them again as normal.
- If you tell us they’ve passed, we wait three days before sending anything. We email them in that time, in case there’s been a mistake: if they sign in, everything stops. You can also take your answer back during those three days.
- After three days, everything they left goes out at once, to the people it was written for. A letter for a day that hasn’t come yet — a wedding, a first child — arrives marked for that day, to be opened on your wedding day, and is theirs to keep. We’ll send you a short note when it’s done.
How do I know this is real and not a scam?
It’s right to wonder. A stranger emailing about someone’s death is exactly what a scam looks like. So, plainly:
- We will never ask you for money, a password, bank details or any document. Not a death certificate, not anything.
- You don’t need an account, and you never have to sign in.
- Every link we send goes to timelinklife.com.
- We don’t email you when you’re named — the person who chose you should tell you themselves. If an email arrives and you weren’t expecting to be anyone’s Assigned Contact, ask them, or someone close to them.