These platforms—from companies such as GoodTrust, Trustworthy and Prisidio—let you upload important documents and control who can see or download them. Compared with more familiar cloud-storage services like Google Drive or Dropbox, digital vaults offer more security and flexibility.

“The main difference lies in the type of encryption used,” says Katherine Lam-Bellacero, curriculum manager for Senior Planet From AARP, who developed the training on using digital vaults. Digital vaults use a security feature called “zero-knowledge encryption,” which means that even the service provider can’t read the documents. The platforms typically also have multifactor authentication or, sometimes, facial or fingerprint recognition to verify the identity of anyone accessing the documents. So if a family member or attorney needs to download something, you can give them access to only that document—and be assured they’re the one who retrieves it.

Another difference from free online cloud-storage sites: Digital vaults typically come with a fee of $10 or more per month. (Presidio’s vault starts at $150 per year, though AARP members can get a discounted rate; see the offer below.)

While virtual documents can’t replace physical documents in every situation—so you should not destroy your originals—they can often make communication or transactions easier, especially if you’re traveling or displaced because of a flood or fire. “I think of the digital vault documents almost as backup copies, and also copies that people could access from other places, if needed,” says Stephanie Genkin, a certified financial planner in New York.

Carolyn McClanahan, a financial planner and founder of Life Planning Partners, compares a digital vault to a virtual file cabinet for important health, legal and financial paperwork. Since the platforms typically prompt you to categorize your documents as you upload them, “it’s just a great convenience for good recordkeeping,” she says.

As with vital physical documents, anyone with a digital vault should make sure that at least one trusted person knows about the vault and how to access it. That way, the documents will be available to them should you become incapacitated—or upon your death.

Nathaniel Robinson, CEO of Trustworthy, says that keeping all your key documents together in one known place makes things easier in a crisis. Otherwise, “where do you go to find all the important things?”

To create a digital vault, choose a company, sign up for an account and take these steps:

1. Make digital versions. Using a scanner/printer or your smartphone, scan all your physical documents to create pdfs. In some cases, such as a recent car loan, you may have only digital files; perhaps they were emailed to you. Download those to your computer.

2. Upload and organize. Sign in to the digital vault platform and upload the documents to your vault. The platform should guide you on how to file your records. In general, items are placed under an appropriate category: “Family IDs,” “Insurance” or “Legal,” for example. You can also add notes to explain an item in more detail.

3. Set the permissions. You can customize access for family, friends, lawyers, caregivers or medical providers, dictating what each person can see: everything, only certain categories or only certain documents. And you can share and unshare items at any time.