Everyone in my family knows I own bitcoins. If I die, they won't be throwing out any of my paper wallets until they've figured out how to either convert them to cash or get them into their own address. Do people close to you really not know that you own bitcoins!?
In case of death, relatives or simply trusted persons should know not only about the existence of records with private keys, but also know how to use them to exchange or cash the crypto currency. This will protect them already from unscrupulous people, to whom they can turn for help in this matter.