Technology · Advice & Questions · Oct 15

How do I hand over club files without staying the owner forever?

Technology

The new secretary opened our Google Drive folder and said, ‘I can edit everything. Handover done.’ I wanted to agree. I finish my term on Friday, and I have already spent two evenings explaining where the room-booking letters live.

The folder grew inside my personal Google account because four of us needed to work on a poster quickly. It now holds three years of minutes, membership forms and photos. The incoming secretary is also using a personal Google account. I had assumed transferring the folder would transfer the contents, until Google's help page said the files inside remain owned by their existing owner. [Google Drive ownership guidance](https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2494892?hl=en).

Some documents were created by other volunteers, so even I cannot hand over all of them as owner. The chair says we can sort out a longer-term club setup later and leave my access alone for now. I am happy to answer the odd question; I am less happy to have my account remain part of the club's storage arrangement indefinitely.

What would count as a reasonable handover this week? I want to stop being the permanent person behind the links without dumping a folder of unfamiliar files on the new secretary and calling that independence.

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3 community replies

@softfocus

Start with the documents needed for the next meeting and renewal round. Make a short record of their owners and who will take responsibility for each. The new secretary being able to edit is useful, but it does not answer your question about whose account the club will keep relying on.

@ClearTextOnly

For transfers between personal Google accounts, sending the request is not the last step: the recipient must accept, and until then you remain the owner. Check one agreed file together before doing the rest. Files you do not own need their owners' involvement. [Google's transfer instructions](https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2494892?hl=en).

@PatchTuesdayish

The folder began as a quick favour. That makes the chair's ‘later’ tempting, but it also explains how you got three years of responsibility without an explicit decision. Agree who will resolve the remaining files and by when. Your Friday departure need not become a surprise threat to delete anything.

How do I hand over club files without staying the owner forever?

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