Abstract:
A secure system and method is presented for an individual to gather, organize, store, and share personal and asset information. The system is offered through software-as-service platform to professional service providers who provide the platform as a service for their clients as a complement to their traditional service offerings. The client uses the system as tool to provide information to his or her professional service provider. In addition, the client uses the system to gather, organize, store, and share personal information with others. This information can be shared at the time of the client&#39;s choosing, or at the client&#39;s death. The service provider assists the recipients in accessing the information by providing the verification point of a triggering event.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present application relates to the field of data storage, communication, and data release. More particularly, the described embodiments relate to a system and method for storing and releasing estate planning documents and related records over a world wide communication network, and associating that system with one or more estate planning or financial professionals. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Throughout history, when somebody dies, a wealth of important information goes with them. Even seemingly well-organized people often leave loved ones scratching their heads in a desperate search for information and assets. In our digital age, with more and more information moving online and being stored electronically, increasing amounts of it are becoming permanently inaccessible for failure of the deceased to have provided another person with means for its retrieval. Gone are the days when we could locate every person&#39;s assets by simply checking their safe, mailbox, desk, and dresser drawers. Barring an alternative, some organized people keep a master list of important assets and information and store it with their will or on a computer. But when these things are stored in a place that is accessible, there is a danger that the correct people do not find the list at the appropriate time. 
         [0003]    A growing need exists and new tools are available to address this need in a comprehensive and efficient manner. Published U.S. Patent Application No. 2002 /0111946 addresses this issue in a general matter, but fails to integrate the system into the offerings, services, or products of traditional service providers in this area. The system described herein gives service professionals and their clients the ability to efficiently and effectively gather, organize, store and share personal and asset information in a logical and secure manner. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    The invention gives the professional services provider a means to easily address these needs to the benefit of both the client and the services provider. The client is already turning to the professional for planning and organizational services. The professional service provider compliments his or her traditional services by providing each client with access to a personal online profile where the client can collect, organize, and store a broad variety of important private information. This information may include confidential information, such as account numbers and passwords for on-line accounts. The invention is designed to serve as both an intake tool for the professional services provider as well as a self-managed digital profile for the client. As the service professional adds clients, she simply creates new user accounts and instructs her clients to access their profiles through a provided link. One embodiment of the invention can be branded with the service professional&#39;s own logo, look and feel—thereby becoming a natural extension of the service provider&#39;s own offerings. 
         [0005]    As the client enters information into his profile, he also designates which recipients should have access to that information and when. While the professional services provider gets default access to the intake information, the client retains exclusive control over the variety of information contained in his profile and can continue using the tool to organize, store and share information with loved ones. The client receives regular email reminders from the professional services provider asking him to keep his profile updated; while each recipient receives regular email reminders asking them to contact the professional services provider if a triggering event occurs. The client even has the ability to download his profile information into electronic printable form to store or share as he chooses. 
         [0006]    Once the client dies, the professional services provider is relied upon to activate the post-mortem access to information and to make sure each information recipient is able to access those pieces of information preselected by the client. The professional services provider is a key player in the delivery of the service benefits; and if any information recipient fails to access the preselected information, the professional services provider can attempt to contact that person to ensure proper delivery. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing a plurality of users interacting with a computerized system implementing one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing showing the elements of the computers, components, and data elements utilized to implement the computerized system. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart showing a method implementing one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing showing sample elements of the intake information used by the embodiment of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing showing sample elements of the digital profile sued by the embodiment of  FIG. 3 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Overview of the System 
       [0012]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing a plurality of professionals  110 ,  112 , their clients  120 - 126 , and the related recipients  130 ,  132  that are interconnected through a computerized system  100 . The computerized system  100  provides an interactive interface to users  110 - 132  that allows users  110 - 132  to store, recall, and share data in the computerized system  100 . In the present description, professionals  110 - 112  are professional service providers such as estate planning attorneys, financial planners, accountants, insurance agents, or human resource providers that provide access to the computerized system  100  to their clients  120 - 126 . This access is provided as a complement to the traditional service offerings of these professionals  110 ,  112 . The clients  120 - 126  in the present description are the clients of professionals  110 - 112  who are granted access to the computerized system by working with those professionals  110 - 112 . In  FIG. 1 , client A 1   120  and client A 2   122  are so labeled because they access the system  100  through their relationship with professional A  110 , while clients B 1   124  and client B 2   126  are so labeled because they access the system  100  through their relationship with professional B  112 . The recipients  130 ,  132  are those individuals that have been designated by the clients  120 - 126  to receive access to the data stored in the computerized system  100 . In  FIG. 1 , both recipients  130 ,  132  are designated recipients of client A 2   122 , as indicated by labeling the recipients  130 ,  132  as A 2 - 1  and A 2 - 2 , respectively. 
         [0013]    The computerized system  100  includes a set of software instructions or interfaces stored on a non-volatile, non-transitory, computer readable medium  102 , which may take the form of a computer hard drive or flash memory device. A digital processor  104 , such as a general purpose CPU manufactured by Intel Corporation (Mountain View, Calif.) or Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (Sunnyvale, Calif.) accesses and performs the software. To improve efficiency, processor  104  may load software stored in memory  102  into faster, but volatile, RAM  106 . Data operated upon by the software can also be stored in non-volatile memory  102  and retrieved into RAM  106  for analysis, recording, and reporting. The computer system  100  further includes a network interface  108  to communicate with other computerized devices across a digital data network. In one embodiment, the network is the Internet or an Intranet, and the network interface  108  includes TCP/IP protocol stacks for communicating over the network. The network interface  108  may connect to the network wirelessly or through a physical wired connection. Instead of being a single computer with a single processor  104 , the computerized system  100  could also implemented using a network of computers all operating according to the instructions of the software. 
         [0014]    The professionals  110 ,  112 , initiate use of the system  100  by customizing the interface that will be seen by themselves, their clients  120 - 126 , and the related recipients  130 - 132 . In certain embodiments of the invention, the service will be offered to the professionals  110 ,  112  as a white label service, allowing the professional  110 ,  112  to brand the service with his or her own trade dress and thereby more readily integrate the service with their existing service offerings. Thus when clients A 1   120  and A 2   122  access the system  100 , the interface will reflect the trade dress, logos, and identity of professional A  110 , while clients B 1   124  and B 2   126  will see the trade dress, logos, and identity of professional B  112  whenever they access the system  110 . 
         [0015]    After customizing the interface for their clients  120 - 126 , the professionals  110 ,  112  instruct their clients  120 - 126  to access the computerized system in order to input personal information into the system. The professional  110 ,  112  can then use this information to provide their traditional services (e.g., estate planning services for an estate planning attorney, or accounting services for an accountant). The client&#39;s personal data is preferably collected through a library of interactive forms. This library of forms is provided by the white label service of the entity that operates the computerized system  100 . For example, this allows a new estate planning attorney that wishes to use the system  100  to have immediate access to standard customer forms that have been designed for estate planning attorney clients, while a new accountant would be able to use standard forms designed for accounting clients. Each professional  110 ,  112  can select the forms that they desire for their business, and, in one embodiment, then customize those forms as he or she desires. When the client  120 - 126  accesses the system  100 , the clients  120 - 126  will see the customized forms selected by their professional  110 ,  112 . When the client  120 - 126  has entered information into the selected forms, the professional  110 ,  112  will be able to access that information. 
         [0016]    The information collected from the client is securely stored in the client&#39;s personal digital profile stored on the non-volatile memory  102  of the computerized system  100 . The client  120 - 126  has the ability to augment the information in their digital profile beyond the scope of information needed by the service professional  110 - 112 . The computerized system  100  grants default access to the service provider  110 - 112  to only to those pieces of information needed for the provision of the professional services. In one embodiment, the client controls all access to their data in the digital profile, and even has the ability to change the default access provided to their service professional  110 - 112 . In fact, each time information or content is added, the client  120 - 126  may decide who gets access to that piece of information or content and when that person or persons get access. 
         [0017]    The client  120 - 126  also designates one or more recipients  130 - 132  that receive conditional access to their digital profile. These recipients are always associated with a particular client  120 - 126 , as recipients A 2 - 1   130  and A 2 - 2  are associated with client A 2   122 . The computerized system  100  grants the recipients  130 - 132  access to some or all of the digital profile of their associated client  122  upon the occurrence of a triggering event, such as the disability or death of the client  122 , or upon a specific date. In one embodiment, if the client  122  fails to specify any other trigger, the computerized system  100  will grant access to the entire digital profile to the recipients upon the death of the client  122  but not before. 
         [0018]    For each recipient  130 ,  132  identified by the client  122 , an email is sent to that recipient  130 ,  132  asking them to register with the computerized system  100  so that they can gain access to the digital profile when that information is made available. The system  100  generates regular emails to the client  122  to remind the client  122  to keep the information in their digital profile up to date. The system  100  also generates regular emails to the recipients  130 ,  132  to remind the recipients  130 ,  132  to keep the information in their digital profile up to date and to inform them that they should contact the service professional  110  upon the occurrence of a triggering event. Recipients  130 ,  132  are only granted access to their designated information after the service professional  110  has confirmed the triggering event and subsequently enabled access to the recipient  130 ,  132  on behalf of the client  122 . 
       Implementation as a Web Server 
       [0019]    The computerized system  100  of  FIG. 1  can be implemented as one or more web server computers  200  as shown in  FIG. 2 . The server computer  200  is capable of storing information about all of the parties that use the system  100  that were described above in connection with  FIG. 1 . In the preferred embodiment, a server computer  200  stores this information in a database  210 . This information can be maintained as separate tables in a relational database, or as database objects in an object-oriented database environment within the database  210 .  FIG. 2  shows the database  210  with tables or objects for professionals  220 , clients  230 , and recipients  240 . This allows the database  210  to maintain information about the professionals  110 - 112 , clients  120 - 126 , and recipients  130 - 132  that may access the server computer  200 . In addition, the database  210  stores data of relevance to the client  230  in a digital profile database entity  250 . 
         [0020]    Of course, the table or object entities shown in  FIG. 2  should not be considered to show actual implementation details of the database  210 , since it is well within the scope of the invention to implement this type of data using a variety of entity architectures. The entities shown are exemplary, intended only to aid in the understanding of the data maintained by the database  210  in this embodiment. For example, it would be well within the scope of the present invention to divide information about professionals  220  into multiple tables or objects, instead of the single professional database entity  220  shown in  FIG. 2 . Similarly, it would be possible to implement the database  210  such that information about professionals, clients, and recipients all use a single database table or object, where the role (professional, client, or recipient) for each instance is defined using a field within that table or object. Finally, it is not even necessary to implement these entities as formal tables or objects, as other database paradigms could also effectively implement these types of data structures. 
         [0021]    Relationships between these entities  220 - 250  are represented in  FIG. 2  using crow&#39;s foot notation. For example,  FIG. 2  shows that each client  230  is associated through database links with a single professional  220 , while a professional  220  may be associated with multiple clients  230 . Relationships in the database  210  can be established through any standard technique for associating, connecting, linking, or otherwise establishing relationships between database entities within a database. From  FIG. 2 , it can be seen that each client  230  may have multiple recipients  240 , but each recipient  240  is linked with only a single client  230 . Furthermore, we know that each client  230  and each recipient are linked with only a single digital profile record  250 , while professionals  220  that work with many clients  230  will be associated with multiple profile records  250 . 
         [0022]    The database  210  is used by a web server  260  operating on one or more of the server computers  200  to generate the various interfaces used by the system  100 . In particular, web programming  262  exists that defines how to create a professional interface  264 , a client interface  266 , and a recipient interface  268  using the data in the database  210 . This programming  262  allows the web server  260  to transmit over the World Wide Web  270  (or similar wide area network) a professional interface  280  that can be seen by a browser operating on a computer  290  for the benefit of a professional  110 ,  112 . Similarly, the web server  260  can manage a client interface  282  on browser operating on a client computer  292 , and a recipient interface  284  operating on a recipient computer  294 . Each computer  200 ,  290 ,  292 ,  294  could be a standard personal computer operating a Microsoft Windows, Linux, or Apple Mac OS operating system. Alternatively, some of these computers, such as  290 - 294 , could be mobile devices, such as smart phones or tablet computers, operating Google Android, Apple iOS, or Microsoft Windows Phone operation system. In addition, these devices  290 - 296  could be a “smart” or Internet enabled television sets. 
       Professional Service Provider Set-Up Interaction 
       [0023]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart showing the process  300  by which the users  110 - 132  utilize the computerized system  10 . For the sake of simplicity, this description will focus on the use of the system  100  by a single professional A  110  and their client A 2   122 , who shares his digital profile with recipient A 2 - 1   130 . This description should not be considered limiting, as the intent of the present invention is to have the system  100  be utilized by numerous professionals  110 ,  112 , with each professional  110 ,  112  having a plurality of clients  120 - 126 , and with each client  120 - 126  designating a plurality of recipients  130 ,  132 . 
         [0024]    In the first step  310  of process  300 , the professional services provider  110  registers herself with the computerized system  100 . This step must be taken before the professional  110  may offer the product&#39;s services to her clients  120 ,  122 . Registration includes basic address and contact information as well as the creation of login credentials (user name, password and security questions). These login credentials are requested by the system  100  every time a user accesses the system in order to identify and authenticate individual users. 
         [0025]    At step  312 , the professional services provider  110  will use administrative tools available through the professional interface  280  to customize her experience with the system  100  as well as the experience of her client  122 . Professional  110  integrates the system  100  either by using her own custom domain (i.e., Internet domain name address) or through use of the system domain controlled by the entity that operates system  100 . If a custom domain is used, the client  122  will be directed to a sub-domain of the professional&#39;s existing domain. The professional  110  creates this sub-domain and then redirects the sub-domain to an address provided by the operator of system  100 . The professional  110  has the opportunity to customize the landing page first viewed by her client  122  with her firm&#39;s logo and contact information. If the system domain is used, the client  122  is directed to the professional&#39;s landing page on the system&#39;s server  200 . The professional  110  also has the opportunity to customize this landing page with their firm logo and contact information. 
         [0026]    The customization of step  312  also includes the creation and modification of the intake questionnaires that the system  100  provides to client  122 . By so doing, the professional  110  is also defining the intake data that the system  100  will track in the client&#39;s digital profile  250 . The intake forms will be provided to the client  122  through that client&#39;s client interface  282 . These forms will use best-practice data collection techniques appropriate for the professional services provider  110 . However, the system  100  will also support a diversity of business practices and sensitivity. The system&#39;s form engine will enable professional services providers  110  to add, edit, or exclude most form elements according to the needs of their practice. In step  312 , the professional  110  can also customize other elements of their implementation of the computerized system  100 , including the introduction language, fonts, colors, graphics (including company logo), messages, contact information, and the body and subject of email messages that are sent to the client  122  and the recipient  130 . 
         [0027]    In one embodiment, the professional services provider  110  is responsible for the creation of accounts on the computerized system  100  for each of her customers  120 ,  122 . This occurs at step  314 . The professional  110  creates a new account for her client  122  using minimal information known about the client, such as their name, contact information and email address. In the case of couples, a tied pair of accounts is created. The professional services provider  110  also provides payment to the manager of the computerized system  100  during account creation. Payment information can be remembered at the discretion of the professional services provider  110  to simplify subsequent account creation. With the creation of a new account, an email with a temporary password is sent to the client  122  inviting him to visit the system site (through client interface  282 ) to begin the intake process. 
         [0028]    In an alternative embodiment, the computerized system  100  can allow client  122  to create his own account on the system  100 . Because every new client account must be associated with a professional  110 , the account creation process requires any client that creates their own account to identify and associate themselves with a professional  110  that uses the system  100 . This alternative embodiment allows a professional  110  to explain to new clients that they must create an account on the system  100  before their first meeting. The professional  110  would provide instructions on how to create the account to new customers, ensuring that the appropriate intake data would be entered into the system before their first meeting. In one embodiment, the system  100  would allow new accounts to be created by client  120  before payment, but would require payment by the professional  110  before information in a client&#39;s digital profile  250  is shared with the professional  110 . 
         [0000]    Client Interaction with the System. 
         [0029]    Upon his first actual use of the system  100 , the client  122  is asked to create a permanent password (i.e., login credentials) as well as security questions and answers that can be used to retrieve a lost or forgotten password. This registration process takes place in step  320 . 
         [0030]    Once the user is logged into their account, the system  100  at step  322  provides the client  122  with a dashboard, which is the home page for the client within the system  100  and provides a summary of client&#39;s account status. The dashboard includes a visual indication of overall percentage to which the client&#39;s digital profile  250  is complete, warnings about recommended actions, and a messaging tool to display and create messages between the client  122  and their professional services provider  110 . The dashboard also includes other information including space for the professional services provider  110  to populate with selected articles, information, static image or message or system default information. 
         [0031]    One of the primary purposes of the client interface  282  is to allow the client  122  to input data into their digital profile. This intake of information takes place at step  324 , and utilizes several forms designed to collect the information needed to create the client&#39;s profile. The intake information entered at this intake step  324  is stored in the digital profile  250 . The intake information is the type of information that would be useful for the professional  110  to perform her standard services for the client  122  and for recipients to have following the client&#39;s death or disability. For example, with respect to estate planning professionals, intake information includes those items  400  indicated on  FIG. 4 . All forms used by the client interface  282  for data input into the digital profile  250  intelligently expand and contract according to the client&#39;s answers thereby streamlining the data entry process. All forms provide appropriate validation and input helpers to help ensure accurate information. Professional services providers  110  can customize all forms for receiving intake information  400  according to the diversity and sensitivities of their individual practice using a forms editor. By default, the professional services provider  110  is given read-only access to the client&#39;s intake information  400  to assist in providing their professional services. In some embodiments, permission to access the intake information  400  can be changed by the client  122  as desired. 
         [0032]    In addition to intake information  400 , the client  122  at step  326  can add additional information and materials to the digital profile  250 , as is shown in  FIG. 5 . In particular, the digital profile may include the following categories of information and materials:
       Notes  510 . The note form allows the client  122  create a simple unstructured message to his recipient  130 . The notes  510  are as flexible and open-ended as a standard email message.   Videos  520 . The video form allows the client  122  to upload and describe videos files  520 .   Files  530 . The file form allows the client  122  to upload and describe arbitrary digital files  530 .   Online Accounts  540 . The online account form allows the client  122  to identify online accounts  540  and to record the security credentials (user name, password, security questions, special instructions) needed to access them.   Road Map  550 . The road map form allows the client  122  to describe the location of tangible assets and important items that exist in the real world rather than in digital format.   Plan My Funeral  560 . The plan my funeral form allows the client  122  to provide notes, suggestions, ideas, or even detailed plans about the client&#39;s desires concerning their funeral service, their visitation or wake, the reception, desires regarding memorials and notifications, and their wishes with respect to burials or cremation.       
 
         [0039]    Within each category  510 - 560  of information in the digital profile  250 , the client  122  is able to create a nearly unlimited number of records. Unlike the information collected on the Intake forms  400 , the information created, entered and stored in the rest of the digital profile  250  is not available to the professional services provider  110  unless explicitly granted by the client  122 . 
         [0040]    In addition, it should be noted that, in the preferred embodiment, the client  122  has ultimate control over whether and with whom to affiliate his digital profile  250 . In other words, the client  122  has the ability to transfer his professional services relationship to another professional  112  so long as that professional  112  is registered with the system  100 . In doing so, the information entered by the client  122  will transfer intact and the same abilities of the previous professional  110  to interact with the intake information  400  will transfer to the new professional services provider  112 . 
         [0041]    For each data entry  510 - 560  added to the digital profile  250 , the client has the opportunity to identify one or more recipients  130 ,  132  of the information  510 - 560  that have access to that data, either immediately or upon the occurrence of some triggering event. As shown at step  328 , each recipient  130 ,  132  identified by the client  122  will receive an email instructing her to register herself with the system  100  as a participant in the client&#39;s digital profile  250 . Interaction between the recipient  130  and the system  100  will take place through the recipient interface  284 , which may also include customizations specified by the professional  110  working with the client  122 . 
         [0042]    The client  122  will be notified when their recipient  130  registers with the system  100  through interface  284 . During registration (step  330 ), the recipient  130  establishes her username and password (her login credentials) as well as secret questions and answers that can be used to retrieve a forgotten password. The client  122  will also be notified if there are their recipient  130  fails to register or if email to recipient  130  is rejected or bounces back. 
       Interaction Between Clients and Professional Service Providers. 
       [0043]    After the client  122  enters intake data  400  at step  324 , the professional services provider  110  is able to export the intake data  400  in a format appropriate for printing, or in an export format appropriate for syncing with computer programs utilized by the professional  110 . This occurs at step  332  in process  300 . Frequently, the client  122  has hired the professional  110  to generate documents that may themselves be important additions to the client&#39;s digital profile  250 . In one embodiment, the professional  110  is given the ability through their interface  280  (at step  334 ) to submit digital versions of these documents to the digital profile  250  of her client  122 . 
         [0044]    The professional  110  has the ability to receive activity reports for her client  122 . These reports will inform the professional services provider of the last time the client  122  has accessed the system  100 . In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the professional  110  will also receive activity reports informing the professional  110  of significant changes or shortcomings in client information, either in the intake form  400  or in the remainder of the digital profile  250  that may impact the provider&#39;s service offerings. 
         [0045]    At step  340 , the system  100  prompts the professional  110  to maintain regular e-mail contact with each of her clients  122 . The e-mail communication between the professional  110  and her client  122  can take place outside the computerized system  100 . In the preferred embodiment, however, the e-mail communications are managed and tracked by the system  100  so that the professional  110  has a consistent and complete record of communications with client  122  concerning the system  100 . In fact, the communications can be fully generated and automated by the system  100  so that no additional steps are necessary for the professional  110  to send the communications. In other embodiments, the system  100  will suggest e-mail text based on standard language suggested by the system  100 . The professional  110  will have the opportunity to customize the suggested email communication language proposed by the system  100 . In some cases, the system  100  will not send any communication until authorized by the professional  110 . In this way, the system  100  ensures that the client  122  will receive regular email from his professional services provider  110 . In still other embodiments, the professional  110  can modify the level of communication desired with her customer  122 . This level of communication can vary from absolutely no ongoing email communication, to correspondence on a regularly scheduled time basis, to ad hoc email or email notice when the digital profile  250  needs attention for some reason. 
         [0046]    These email communications serve multiple purposes including:
       asking the client  122  to complete or update specific portions of his digital profile  250 ;   reminding the client  122  to keep his information up-to-date;   providing the client  122  with relevant information related to the service offerings of the professional  110 ; and   advising the client  122  if an information recipient  130  has failed to register or keep contact information current.       
 
         [0051]    Every recipient  130  who registers himself through the recipient interface  284  at the request of the client  122  becomes a member of that client&#39;s network. Recipient  130  will also receive regular email from the professional service provider  110  currently working with that client  122 . These emails serve multiple purposes including:
       reminding the recipient  130  that he or she has been selected by the client  122  to receive important client information;   reminding the recipient  130  to keep his or her contact information up-to-date;   requesting the recipient  130  to inform the professional service provider  110  about the occurrence of a triggering event; and   indirectly informing the recipient  130  of the services offered by the professional service provider  110 .
 
As was the case with e-mail communication with the client  122 , the professional services provider  110  will have the opportunity to customize the standard content and frequency of email communication with the recipients  130 ,  132 .
 
Information Sharing with Recipients.
       
 
         [0056]    By maintaining ongoing communication with the client  122  and each of the client&#39;s recipients  130 , the professional  110  will be able to improve her relationship with client  122  and develop a relationship with each recipient  130 . This strengthened relationship will allow the professional  110  to increase their ability to market services to those individuals  122 ,  130 . More importantly, however, regular communication concerning this system  100  will increase the likelihood that the professional  110  will receive timely notification of a triggering event. In many cases, the triggering event will be the death of the client  122 , and the communication of that event will come from the recipient  130 . 
         [0057]    Upon receiving notice of and confirming a triggering event such as the client&#39;s disability or death (step  342 ), the professional  110  verifies the occurrence of that event, and then inputs the event into the system  100  through the professional interface  280  at step  344 . Upon verification of the triggering event by the professional  110 , the system  100  sends an email notice (step  346 ) to each recipient  130  identified by the client  122 . This email serves only as an invitation to the recipients  130  to visit their recipient interface  284  of the system  100  in order to view client information designated for the recipient. The emails do not contain any client information stored in the digital profile  250 . 
         [0058]    The recipient  130  will then log into the system  100  at step  348  using the password she established when she confirmed their status as recipients in the client&#39;s network at step  330 . In the event the recipient  130  has forgotten her password, she is able to retrieve the password by correctly answering the security questions that were established during registration. After logging into the system  100 , recipient  130  will receive read-only access to that portion of the client&#39;s digital profile  250  designated for their viewing (step  350 ). The level of access to the profile  250  that will be granted will be as specified by the client  122 . 
         [0059]    The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the above description. Numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Since such modifications are possible, the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described. Rather, the present invention should be limited only by the following claims.