Share Securely with Family — Complete Guide
Understand roles, permissions, and how family sharing works across Items, Travel, Insurance, and Legacy.
Basic Plan or Higher Required
The Family Plan is available on the Basic plan and above. You can upgrade anytime from Settings → Subscription.
Table of Contents
How Family Sharing Works — At a Glance
Setup (one-time)
Roles: Admin, Co-Admin & Member
Every family member has a role that determines what they can manage. All roles can view family-shared items — the difference is in management permissions.
Admin
Plan creator
- Create/delete family plan
- Invite & remove members
- Change member roles
- Share/unshare items
- Access family settings
Co-Admin
Trusted helper · max 1 per family
- Cannot delete family plan
- Invite & remove members
- Cannot change roles
- Share/unshare items
- Edit/delete shared items
- No settings access
Member
View access
- Cannot manage plan
- Cannot invite others
- Cannot change roles
- Cannot share/unshare
- View family-shared items
- Cannot edit shared items
Managing Members
The Members page lets you view your family, invite new members, and remove existing ones. Admins and Co-Admins can invite and remove members. Only Admins can change member roles.
Changing a Member's Role
Go to Family → Members from the sidebar
Find the member whose role you want to change
Click their current role badge (e.g., "Member")
A dropdown appears — select the new role
The role updates immediately, no save button needed
What Each Member Card Shows
Name & email
Role badge
Relationship
Joined date
Removing a member: Click the remove button on their card. They immediately lose access to all family-shared items. Their own items are not affected.
Leaving on your own: Members and Co-Admins can leave a family plan at any time from the Family page. Leaving immediately revokes access to family-shared items; the member's own items stay with them.
Co-Admin is meant for one trusted partner. When you invite a new Co-Admin, the system blocks the invitation if one already exists — demote or remove the existing Co-Admin first. We recommend keeping just one Co-Admin (typically a spouse) for clear accountability.
Admin constraints: The admin cannot change their own role or remove themselves. To leave, the admin must delete the entire family plan from Settings.
Invitations & Onboarding
Sending an Invitation
From the Invite page, fill in:
Email address *
Must match their MyDocuva account email
Role *
Member or Co-Admin
Personal message
Optional note included in invitation email
Managing Pending Invitations
After sending, a "Pending Invitations" section appears below the form. Each pending invite shows:
Invitee email: Who was invited
Expiry countdown: Invitations expire after 48 hours
Resend button: Re-send the invitation email if they missed it
Cancel button: Cancel the invitation before it's accepted
How Invitees Join
Invitee receives an email with a secure link
They click the link → taken to the invitation page
If not logged in, they're prompted to log in or register first
They see the family name, inviter name, and offered role
Click "Accept" to join, or "Decline" to pass
Invitations expire after 48 hours. If they expire, use the Resend button to send a fresh invitation. The invitee's email must match a MyDocuva account (case-insensitive).
Family Visibility — Who Sees and Edits Your Items
Family visibility applies to your Items vault. The matrix below answers two questions: who can see your items, and who can edit the ones you've shared with the family.
| Person | See "My Family" items | See "Only Me" items | Edit shared items |
|---|---|---|---|
You(Owner) | |||
Co-Admin(e.g. spouse) | |||
Member(e.g. child, parent) |
The rule: Only the Owner can flip an item between "Only Me" and "My Family". Co-Admins can edit the content of shared items (notes, photos, documents) but cannot change visibility. Members are read-only on shared items.
Other vaults: Travel trips and Insurance inventories live in their own vaults with their own visibility rules — see section 7 below. Public share links (anyone with the URL) are covered in the Sharing guide. Legacy Vault roles are explained in section 8.
Item Visibility & Family Sharing
Every item has a visibility toggle you control. This is the single switch that determines whether your family can see it.
Where to find it: When creating or editing an item in My Items, look for the Visibility section. Toggle between "My Family" and "Only Me". Changes take effect immediately.
"My Family"
- Visible to all family members
- Can be linked to family trips
- Shows teal 👥 icon on Items page
- You can change to "Only Me" anytime
"Only Me"
- Only you can see it
- Legacy Vault co-owner can also see it
- Hidden from family members
- Shows lock 🔒 icon on Items page
Note: Your Legacy Vault co-owner (spouse) sees ALL items regardless of visibility setting. This is by design — they're your trusted partner for estate planning. Family members only see "My Family" items.
What's worth sharing with family
The items families typically benefit from sharing — anything everyone might need to find on short notice.
Travel docs
Passports, IDs, visas — everyone’s, in one place
Home & utilities
Lease, mortgage, utility account info
Health records
Insurance cards, vaccinations, prescriptions
Kids’ records
School docs, vaccinations, activities
Vehicles
Titles, registrations, insurance cards
Insurance policies
Home, auto, life — claim-ready details
Treat "My Family" like a shared filing cabinet. Anything specific to one person (e.g., personal medical records, work contracts) stays as "Only Me".
Family in Travel & Insurance
Family sharing connects naturally to Travel and Insurance. Here's how each section works with your family plan.
Travel
- Trips can be Only Me (solo) or My Family (shared)
- Family trips: anyone in the family can edit the trip, link/unlink items, generate reports
- Customs forms attached to a family trip are collaborative — any family member can view, generate, edit, sign, upload, or delete them
- Permanent delete of a family trip is restricted to Owner / Co-Admin
Insurance
- Each member manages their own insurance inventory
- Link items to insurance policies for claims readiness
- Family-shared items can be included in reports
- Private items stay private — even in insurance
Family Plan vs Legacy Vault — Key Differences
These are two completely separate systems with different purposes. The same person can hold roles in both.
| Family Plan | Legacy Vault | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Day-to-day sharing | Estate planning & inheritance |
| When active | While everyone is alive | Continues after you're gone |
| Roles | Admin, Co-Admin, Member | Owner, Co-Owner, Nominee |
| Item access | Only "My Family" items | Co-Owner sees ALL items |
| Primary use | Travel, Insurance, sharing | Passing items to nominees |
| Can be changed | Anytime by admin | Anytime until disclosure |
| Max people | 2–10 members (varies by plan) | Unlimited nominees |
Example: Your spouse can be a Family Co-Admin (helps manage family trips) AND a Legacy Co-Owner (manages your vault if something happens). If both spouses pass, nominees receive allocated items via the secure portal — completely independent of the family plan.
Family Settings & Limits
Family Settings
The Settings page (admin only) shows your family plan details including the plan name and creation date. From here you can also delete the family plan.
Member Capacity
The number of family members depends on your subscription tier. The count includes you (the admin):
Free
No family plan
Basic
2 total
you + 1
Basic Plus
4 total
you + 3
Advanced
10 total
you + 9
When you reach your member limit, the Invite button shows a warning with your current count (e.g., "3 of 4") and an upgrade link.
Storage Pooling
While someone is in your family, they share your storage and item limits — they don't need their own paid plan to use MyDocuva alongside you. Their items, media, and documents count toward your shared pool.
When a member leaves (or is removed), their own items go with them on whatever plan they have on their personal account. Your shared items revert to "Only Me" visibility — they no longer have access.
Deleting the Family Plan
Only the admin can delete the family plan. When deleted: all members lose access to shared items, all items revert to "Only Me" visibility, and all member associations are cleared. Your Legacy Vault is not affected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a family co-admin see my private items?
No. Family co-admin only sees items marked as "My Family". Private items are invisible to all family members. Only your Legacy Vault co-owner can see private items.
Can my spouse be both a family co-admin and a legacy co-owner?
Yes! These are independent systems. As a family co-admin, they help manage family sharing. As a legacy co-owner, they see all your items for estate planning. Different roles, different purposes.
What happens when I change an item from "My Family" to "Only Me"?
It immediately becomes invisible to family members. The change syncs instantly. You can always switch it back.
Can family members edit my items?
It depends on their role. A Family Co-Admin (your trusted partner — typically a spouse) can edit, trash, and delete items you've shared with the family — perfect for households where both partners manage shared documents like an insurance policy or family laptop. Regular Family Members are view-only on shared items. Either way, only you (the owner) can change an item's visibility back to "Only Me", and only you can edit items marked private.
Is the Family Plan related to the Legacy Vault?
They serve different purposes and are managed separately. Family is for everyday sharing (travel, insurance). Legacy is for inheritance planning (nominees, disclosure). The same person can hold roles in both — for example, your spouse can be a Family Co-Admin AND a Legacy Co-Owner — but each role is set independently.
What happens if I delete the Family Plan?
All members lose access to your family-shared items. Items remain yours — their visibility changes to "Only Me". This does not affect your Legacy Vault in any way.
Can a family member link my items to their trip?
Yes. Trips support a "My Family" visibility mode — when a trip is set to family, every member can link family-visible items, edit dates and notes, and add their own customs form. Solo trips ("Only Me") stay private to the creator. The creator picks the visibility at create time, and only the trip owner OR a family Admin/Co-Admin can flip it later.
Who can manage customs forms on a family trip?
Any family member with access to the trip. Customs forms attached to a "My Family" trip are collaborative — anyone in the family can view, generate, edit, sign, upload signed copies, share via QR/email, and delete them. The form still records its original declarant (their name, address, signature) — collaboration is for managing the paperwork, not for impersonating each other.
How do I change a member's role?
Go to Family → Members. Click the role badge next to the member's name. A dropdown appears — select the new role. The change saves immediately.
Can I resend an invitation?
Yes. Go to Family → Invite. Below the invite form, you'll see a "Pending Invitations" section. Click "Resend" next to any pending invite. Invitations expire after 48 hours.
What happens to members when I delete the family plan?
All members immediately lose access to shared items. Shared items revert to "Only Me" visibility. Members' own items are not affected. Your Legacy Vault is completely independent and not impacted.
What if I reach the member limit?
The invite page shows a warning with your current count (e.g., "3 of 4"). To add more members, upgrade your plan from Settings → Subscription. Higher tiers allow more family members.
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