Creative ways to supply decryption keys to family, without also enabling them to use it maliciously. (Word, access)

[Yelling_at_Birds]

I have been trying to devise a way with which I could provide the decryption for my data to friends/family in the event that I am incapacitated or deceased without compromising the whole purpose of encrypting to begin with.

This is a difficult one to solve when you know nobody which can be trusted with any high degree of certainty. The best I have so far is to break up the key into smaller parts and distribute them to several individuals. These individuals would have little to no way of knowing who the others are, but instructions provided in the event of one's passing would lead them to reach one another and assemble the key in the correct way, TBD.

[Ed_RDNC]

I've been pondering this situation myself, and have come up with a possible answer, but would appreciate any other ideas.

I put a signed and witnessed copy of my Will, Living Will / Limited Power of Attorney for Healthcare, etc. in an envelope, sealed it, marked it "Open only in the event of my death or incapacitation".
I also included a note stating that my original will, deeds, bank records, and a list of passwords, were stored in a fire safe and where it was hidden in my house.
I made duplicate packets for each of my brothers, and on the outside also printed that, at any time, I might send them a new version and they would send me back the old package, Still Sealed. That way they would know that I would know if they peaked.
Since they wouldn't know about the fire safe unless they broke the seal, I presume they won't know or have access to it. Since it's 2-hour fire rated and hidden from theft, that protects it from the two most common dangers.
Some sensitive and important documents are kept in a bank's deposit box, but those are selected in the knowledge that access to it by others may take weeks, (say if I get hit by a bus).