How to Plan Your Digital legacy Before It’s Too Late

A will is usually the first thing people think about when it comes to estate planning. But a will may not tell your family how to get into your phone, access your email, close old accounts or save years of photos from the cloud. That’s where digital legacy planning comes in.

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What Is a Digital Legacy?

Unlike a home, vehicle and other tangible possessions, a digital legacy includes online accounts, files, devices and digital property that a person leaves behind once they pass on. Examples include the following:

Bank and credit card accounts
Email accounts
Social media profiles
Cloud storage
Digital photos and videos
Password managers
Phone, tablet and computer access
Subscription accounts
Rewards accounts
Websites, blogs or online businesses
Crypto or other digital assets

Why Digital Legacy Planning Matters

No one likes to think about the inevitable, but doing so can make things easier for those you leave behind. Digital legacy planning can provide the following benefits:

Assist loved ones in finding important accounts
Prevent missed bills
Protect family photos and personal files
Make it easier for an executor to close accounts
Reduce the risk of identity theft
Give family members clear instructions instead of leaving them to guess

How To Plan Your Digital Legacy

Here’s a step-by-step approach to organizing your accounts, passwords, personal files and instructions before your loved ones need them.

1. Make an Inventory

You can organize the information in a spreadsheet or a written document. Start by listing your digital assets and information by category, as follows.

Financial accounts: banks, credit cards, retirement accounts and payment apps
Personal accounts: email, social media and cloud storage
Devices: phones, tablets, laptops and external drives
Subscriptions: streaming services, memberships, apps and software
Business or income accounts: websites, domains, PayPal, Stripe, Etsy, YouTube or other platforms
Valuable digital assets: crypto, NFTs, domain names or monetized websites
Personal digital files: photos, videos, messages and written memories

For each item under each category, include the following:

Account or asset name
Where to find it (website, app or computer file)
Where the login details are stored

Rather than listing all your usernames and passwords on the inventory sheet, it would be wise to store them in a separate, secure location.

2. Include Clear Instructions

Making a list of your accounts and information isn’t enough. You also need to leave specific instructions about what you want done with them. Instruction keyword options include the following:

Keep (email account, cloud storage or family photo account)
Transfer (website domain, monetized blog or business account)
Close (bank account, credit card account or subscription account)
Memorialize (Facebook profile or other social media account with a memorial option)
Delete (old shopping account, unused app account or inactive profile)
Download or save (photos, videos, documents or written memories stored in the account)

3. Choose a Trusted Person to Handle Your Digital Legacy

It’s important to choose someone whom you trust who is also comfortable with technology to handle your digital legacy. However, it doesn’t have to be the same person you designate as the executor of your estate in your will. Additionally, the person’s role (i.e., digital executor) may need to be addressed in estate documents. Consult your attorney to determine how to include this information.

4. Use Platform Legacy Tools

Some platforms have legacy tools that let you choose in advance what happens to certain account information after you die. Here are some examples:

Apple Legacy Contact: Apple allows users to name a legacy contact who can request access to eligible account data after death. To do so, your contact will need an access key and your death certificate.
Google Inactive Account Manager: Google lets users choose when an account should be considered inactive and what should happen to it. Users can also decide whether to share or delete email, photos or Google Drive documents and choose a trusted contact to handle their accounts.
Facebook Legacy Contact: Facebook lets users name a legacy contact who can help manage a memorialized account after death.

5. Store Passwords Safely

Don’t leave username and password information in notebooks, emails or text messages. Also, don’t put passwords directly in a will because wills can become part of the public probate record, meaning anyone can access them. Once you decide how to store your passwords, leave your digital legacy contact instructions for finding them.

Here are some safer storage options:

Use a password manager, such as 1Password, Bitwarden or Dashlane.
Keep a sealed written list in a secure place, such as a safe or safe deposit box.
Store access information with estate planning documents.

6. Consider a Digital Legacy Tool

If you’d rather not DIY your digital legacy plan, there are specialized online tools that can help streamline the process.

Options include:

WonderVault: Allows you to store financial records, passwords, estate plans, photos, journals and other personal items in a digital vault. It automatically shares the information with your designated loved ones after your death or at another date of your choosing.
GoodTrust: Allows you to back up your financial accounts, subscriptions, and social media, and to store photos, videos, passwords and digital instructions. You can also add a trusted contact to fulfill your wishes after you pass.
DGLegacy: Helps you catalog assets, information and passwords, and notify chosen beneficiaries when you pass, which may help reduce the risk of unclaimed assets.

Compare storage options, pricing and how the service handles access after death to find the best fit for your situation.

7. Protect Against Identity Theft After Death

Unused digital accounts that aren’t being monitored after your death can be accessed by fraudsters. Family members need to protect your identity from being stolen by notifying banks, credit card companies, credit bureaus, utilities, subscription services and membership programs of your death.

You should also leave instructions for your trusted contact to watch your mail and email for the following:

New accounts opened in your name
Credit card statements with charges that don’t match known expenses
Subscription renewals that continue after your death
Password reset emails or other suspicious email activity
Mail, bills or collection notices tied to accounts they don’t recognize

8. Review the Plan Once a Year

Your digital legacy can change as you open accounts, buy devices, save new files or add new tools. Review the plan once a year so it still reflects what you own, where it’s stored and how to access it. Additionally, make sure your trusted contact is still the right person to handle it.