Abstract: A method is disclosed for submitting, collecting, storing and retrieving (1) advanced directives such as living wills, medical proxies, (2) medical and pharmaceutical records, and (3) wills and estate documents, all within a secure environment. Once individual consumers have registered and provided appropriate identifying information for use in retrieving stored documents later, they enter a secure area of the website and may use the forms of advanced directives and testamentary documents provided there, may choose to follow displayed hypertext links that lead to forms mandated by the jurisdiction where they are resident (if available), or may choose to submit their own forms prepared in coordination with their personal legal, healthcare and tax advisors. The documents are stored in electronic format in a remote location and may only be retrieved online at a later date by an individual or a healthcare provider possessing the credentials required to access the online vault.