What Is a Digital Estate?
Your digital estate is the collection of every online account, digital file, and virtual asset you own. It includes your email accounts, social media profiles, cloud storage, online banking, streaming subscriptions, digital photos and videos, cryptocurrency wallets, domain names, websites, and even loyalty program points. For most people, this represents dozens or even hundreds of accounts accumulated over years of digital life.
When someone becomes incapacitated or passes away, their digital estate does not simply vanish. Accounts remain active, subscriptions continue charging, and valuable files and memories may become permanently inaccessible if no one knows they exist or how to reach them. Digital estate planning is the process of organizing this information and creating a plan so that your loved ones can manage your digital life when you cannot.
This is not a morbid exercise — it is a practical and caring one. Just as you would not leave your physical belongings without any instructions, your digital life deserves the same thoughtful planning.
Taking Inventory of Your Digital Assets
The first step in digital estate planning is understanding what you have. Most people significantly underestimate the breadth of their digital footprint. Work through these categories to build a comprehensive inventory:
Financial Accounts
- Online banking and investment accounts
- Payment platforms and digital wallets
- Cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges
- Insurance accounts accessible online
- Tax filing and accounting platforms
Communication Accounts
- Email accounts (including old ones you may have forgotten)
- Messaging apps
- Video calling platforms
- Voice over IP phone services
Social Media and Content
- Social networking profiles
- Blog platforms and personal websites
- Video and photo sharing accounts
- Podcast hosting platforms
- Forums and community memberships
Digital Media and Storage
- Cloud storage services containing documents and photos
- Music, movie, and e-book libraries
- Photo storage and backup services
- Streaming service subscriptions
Professional and Business
- Professional networking profiles
- Domain name registrations
- Web hosting accounts
- Business software and service subscriptions
- Freelance platform accounts
Other Digital Assets
- Loyalty and reward programs with accumulated points
- Gaming accounts with purchased content
- Smart home device accounts
- Health and fitness tracking platforms
- Password manager vaults
Legacy Contacts and Account Settings
Many major online platforms now offer built-in tools for managing your account after death or incapacitation. Setting these up is one of the most important steps in digital estate planning.
Legacy Contact Features
Several large platforms allow you to designate a legacy contact — a person who can manage your account or access certain data after your death. The specific features vary by platform:
- Some platforms let your legacy contact download an archive of your data, change your profile picture, or pin a tribute post, without giving them access to your private messages.
- Some platforms offer an Inactive Account Manager that can notify designated contacts and share data from specific services after a defined period of inactivity.
- Some platforms allow you to specify whether your account should be permanently deleted or memorialized after your death.
Review the major platforms you use and configure these settings now. It takes only a few minutes per account but can save your loved ones significant difficulty later.
Account Memorialization vs. Deletion
When someone passes away, most platforms offer two options: memorialization or deletion. A memorialized account is preserved as a tribute — it remains visible but can no longer be logged into, and the word "Remembering" or a similar designation may appear. Deletion permanently removes the account and all its content.
There is no universally right answer. Some families find comfort in a memorialized profile that preserves shared memories. Others prefer a clean closure. Think about what you would want, and communicate your preference as part of your plan.
Password Management for Estates
Access to your accounts is the most practical challenge your loved ones will face. Without your passwords, they may be locked out entirely, unable to cancel subscriptions, retrieve important files, or manage financial accounts.
Using Your Password Manager
If you use a password manager — which we strongly recommend in our password security guide — it becomes the single most important asset in your digital estate. Your password manager holds the keys to everything.
Most reputable password managers offer an emergency access feature. This allows you to designate one or more trusted individuals who can request access to your vault. Typically, the process includes a waiting period (such as 48 hours) during which you can deny the request if you are still able to. If you do not respond within the waiting period, access is granted. This balances security with estate planning needs.
Set up emergency access with your password manager and ensure your designated contacts know the process. They do not need your master password — the emergency access feature handles it.
If You Do Not Use a Password Manager
If you manage passwords manually, you need another way to transfer them securely. Options include:
- A sealed letter stored in a safe or safe deposit box, containing your most critical account credentials and instructions. Update it regularly.
- A trusted attorney who holds an encrypted file or sealed document with your digital account information as part of your estate documents.
- An encrypted digital file stored on a USB drive in a secure physical location, with the decryption password shared separately with your trusted contact.
Whichever method you choose, the key is that someone you trust can access the information when needed, but not before.
Legal Considerations
The law around digital estates is still evolving, and it varies significantly by jurisdiction. Here are the key legal considerations to be aware of:
Terms of Service
Most online services have terms of service that technically prohibit sharing your login credentials with anyone. Some terms of service explicitly state that your account is non-transferable and that all rights to the account terminate upon death. In practice, many platforms have created legacy and memorialization processes to address this, but having proper legal documentation strengthens your family's ability to manage your accounts.
Digital Estate Laws
Many jurisdictions have adopted laws that give executors and trustees the legal authority to access a deceased person's digital assets. These laws generally require that the deceased person has granted permission — either through their will, a trust, a power of attorney, or the platform's own tools. Without explicit authorization, fiduciaries may face significant legal hurdles.
Include Digital Assets in Your Will
Your will or trust should explicitly address your digital assets. At minimum, include:
- A statement granting your executor or trustee authority to access, manage, and distribute your digital assets.
- Instructions for specific accounts: which should be memorialized, which should be deleted, and which contain financial value that should be transferred.
- The location of your password manager or the sealed document containing your account credentials.
- The name and contact information of your designated legacy contacts.
Power of Attorney
A digital estate plan is not only for after death. If you become incapacitated — through illness, injury, or cognitive decline — someone needs the legal authority to manage your digital life on your behalf. A power of attorney that explicitly includes digital assets ensures your designated agent can pay bills through your online banking, manage subscriptions, and handle digital communications while you are unable to.
Creating Your Digital Estate Plan
Here is a step-by-step process for building your plan:
Step 1: Build Your Digital Inventory
Go through the categories listed earlier in this guide and list every account and digital asset you own. For each, note the service name, your username or email, and what type of content or value is associated with it. Store this inventory in your password manager or in a secure document.
Step 2: Determine Your Wishes
For each account and asset, decide what should happen. Should the account be deleted? Memorialized? Should the data be downloaded and shared with specific people? Are there financial assets that need to be transferred? Is there content you want preserved for family members or destroyed for privacy?
Step 3: Set Up Platform Legacy Features
Go through your major accounts and configure legacy contacts, inactive account managers, and memorialization preferences where available. This is the most direct and reliable way to manage many accounts.
Step 4: Configure Password Manager Emergency Access
Set up the emergency access feature in your password manager. Designate one or two trusted individuals. Ensure they understand how the process works — they should know that the feature exists, even if they do not have immediate access to your vault.
Step 5: Update Your Legal Documents
Work with an attorney to include digital asset provisions in your will, trust, and power of attorney. Provide the legal authority needed for your executor or agent to access your digital accounts.
Step 6: Write a Letter of Instruction
A letter of instruction is a non-legal document that complements your will. It provides practical guidance that is too detailed for a legal document: where your password manager is, who your legacy contacts are, which accounts have financial value, which hold sentimental value, and your specific wishes for each. Keep this document with your estate paperwork and make sure your executor knows it exists.
Step 7: Review and Update
Your digital estate plan should be reviewed at least once a year. Accounts change, new services are added, old ones are abandoned, and your wishes may evolve. Treat it as a living document that grows with your digital life.
Communicating with Family
A digital estate plan is only useful if the people who need to execute it know it exists and understand their role. Having a conversation about digital estate planning may feel uncomfortable, but it is one of the most important things you can do.
What to Discuss
- That a plan exists — Your trusted contacts should know you have created a digital estate plan and where to find the relevant documents.
- Who has what role — Make it clear who your legacy contacts are, who has emergency access to your password manager, and who your legal executor is.
- Where to find things — Explain where your digital inventory, letter of instruction, and relevant legal documents are stored.
- How emergency access works — Walk your designated contacts through the process of requesting emergency access to your password manager so they are not learning it during a crisis.
- Your wishes — Share your general preferences: do you want accounts memorialized or deleted? Are there specific digital possessions with sentimental or financial value that you want to go to specific people?
Having the Conversation
You do not need to share every detail of every account. The goal is to make sure your loved ones know a plan exists, know their role in it, and know where to find the information they will need. Many people find it helpful to frame the conversation practically: "I have organized my digital accounts so that if anything happens to me, you will be able to manage things without having to guess or fight with companies for access."
If you are uncomfortable having the conversation in person, a written letter stored with your estate documents can serve the same purpose. The important thing is that the information is accessible when it is needed.
Special Considerations
Cryptocurrency and Digital Financial Assets
Cryptocurrency and similar digital financial assets require special attention because they are often secured by private keys that, if lost, cannot be recovered by anyone. If you hold cryptocurrency, make sure your recovery phrases (seed phrases) and private keys are included in your estate plan. Without them, your digital currency may be permanently inaccessible. Store this information with the same level of security as your most sensitive financial data.
Business and Professional Accounts
If you run a business or have professional accounts that others depend on — such as domain names, hosting accounts, or business social media — your digital estate plan should include transfer instructions and the credentials needed for continuity. Consider adding a business partner or colleague as a backup administrator on critical business accounts.
Digital Media and Intellectual Property
If you have created digital content — writing, music, art, software, videos — your estate plan should address the intellectual property rights and how you want that work managed. Should it remain published? Should it be archived? Should rights be transferred to a specific person? These decisions are particularly important for creators whose work has ongoing commercial or personal value.
Getting Started Today
You do not need to complete your entire digital estate plan in one sitting. Start with these three actions:
- Set up emergency access in your password manager and designate a trusted contact.
- Configure legacy contacts on your most important platforms — your email provider, your primary social media accounts, and any financial services that offer the feature.
- Start your inventory. Open a secure note in your password manager and begin listing your accounts. You can add to it over time until it is comprehensive.
These three steps take less than an hour and immediately ensure that your loved ones have a path to managing your digital life when the time comes.