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What a digital legacy plan does—and what it cannot do
After a death, a family member may know that an account exists but still be unable to open it, download its contents, transfer an asset, or read communications. Provider contracts, privacy rules, encryption, and local law all affect the result. Being named executor does not automatically unlock every online account. The American Bar Association (ABA) recommends account-specific authorization and a well-maintained inventory rather than relying on a general appointment alone (ABA guidance).
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Your plan should make your wishes understandable and help the right people use each provider’s process. It does not override a service’s terms, create access to data that the provider excludes, or replace legal documents. The Uniform Law Commission’s Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) is a model law, not a nationwide rule. Check the law enacted in the jurisdiction that controls your estate and have a qualified estate-planning lawyer review the relevant documents (Uniform Law Commission overview).
Step 1: Make a complete digital-asset inventory
Start with a private working document. Search password-manager entries, browser-saved logins, financial statements, app stores, email receipts, device lists, and domain-renewal notices. Include accounts you use rarely and assets that have no obvious login screen.
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| Category | Examples | Record for each item |
|---|---|---|
| Email and communications | Email, messaging, video-call, and forum accounts | Provider, account identifier, purpose, desired treatment, and person responsible |
| Social and community profiles | Social networks, professional profiles, gaming communities | Memorialize, preserve, download, close, or delete; note any legacy-contact feature |
| Cloud files and photos | Drive storage, photo libraries, backups, shared folders | Important folders, people who should receive copies, and deletion or retention instructions |
| Websites and domains | Domains, hosting, newsletters, code repositories, analytics | Registrar and host, renewal dates, transfer or shutdown plan, and business owner |
| Financial services | Banking, brokerage, payment, rewards, lending, and tax portals | Institution, account type, estate contact, and whether records must be downloaded |
| Cryptocurrency | Exchange accounts, hardware wallets, software wallets, tokens | Wallet location, recovery method, chain or asset notes, and a safe hand-off procedure |
| Devices and networks | Phones, computers, tablets, drives, routers, security keys | Device location, unlock or recovery method, backups, and who may take possession |
| Subscriptions and memberships | Streaming, software, storage, publications, utilities | Billing source, renewal date, cancellation instruction, and data to retain |
| Digital purchases and licenses | Films, music, books, games, applications, downloadable designs | What you own or license, receipts, and whether the provider permits transfer |
For every entry, write the provider, the account name or identifier, what the account is for, the desired outcome, and the person who should act. Record recovery-email addresses, authentication devices, backup codes, and where the credentials are held, but do not place ordinary passwords or wallet seed phrases in a will or a general estate-planning document. The ABA discusses using a password manager to organize credentials; the trusted person still needs to know how to locate the instructions and recovery information (ABA guidance). ACTEC’s guide also emphasizes that digital assets include files, domains, devices, financial accounts, and online purchases (ACTEC guide).
Include information that is easy to overlook
- List aliases, old addresses, secondary email accounts, and accounts opened under a business name.
- Identify two-factor authentication methods. A code sent to a phone that will be disconnected can stop an otherwise authorized recovery.
- Note physical locations of backup drives, security keys, hardware wallets, and paper recovery codes.
- Record recurring income, domain renewals, advertising accounts, and services that could incur charges after death.
- Separate personal messages and photos from business records or material that belongs to another person.
Step 2: Decide what should happen to each account
Write a specific disposition, not a general instruction such as “handle my online accounts.” Your wishes may differ even between accounts at the same provider.
| Disposition | Use it when | Limits to state |
|---|---|---|
| Preserve | Family history, records, photos, research, or business evidence has lasting value. | Specify who receives copies, the format, and how long the source account should remain open. |
| Download | You want files, invoices, messages, or photos retained outside the service. | Name the recipient and storage location; downloading may require provider approval. |
| Transfer | A domain, business property, or financial asset can legally move to another person or entity. | State that transfer is subject to provider terms, licensing rules, and estate law. |
| Memorialize | A profile should remain visible as a place for announcements or remembrance. | Identify the contact and the actions the memorial feature permits. |
| Close | The account has no continuing value or creates recurring cost or privacy risk. | Require a final export or record check before closure if appropriate. |
| Delete | You want sensitive material removed rather than retained. | Explain whether deletion should wait until legal, tax, or business retention duties are met. |
Do not promise that a licensed purchase or an account can be transferred. Digital films, books, music, applications, and subscriptions may be personal licenses rather than property that another person can inherit. Provider terms and local law determine what is possible.
Step 3: Name the people who will carry out the plan
One person may not be the best choice for every category. You can assign separate responsibilities while coordinating them through your executor or another central contact.
- Administrative fiduciary: the executor, trustee, or other legally authorized person who handles estate records and provider correspondence.
- Personal-content contact: someone you trust with photos, private writing, messages, and social profiles.
- Business or domain administrator: a colleague who understands websites, renewals, customer data, and intellectual-property obligations.
- Financial or cryptocurrency specialist: a person capable of following your security procedure without exposing recovery secrets unnecessarily.
Tell each person what role they have and how to find the instructions. A named contact who does not know that a plan exists, or cannot locate the recovery material, may be unable to use it. Reconsider appointments after divorce, a death, a move, a change in trust, or a change in the person’s ability to serve.
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Step 4: Configure provider-specific legacy features
Platform tools are not interchangeable. Compare what data can be accessed, whether the action is viewing, downloading, management, deletion, or memorialization, what proof is required, and whether the feature is triggered by death, inactivity, or a request.
Apple Legacy Contact
Apple lets an account holder add one or more Legacy Contacts through Apple Account settings on a compatible device. The contact must receive and retain the generated access key. Apple says the contact also needs a death certificate to request access, and that requirements can vary by region (Apple Support).
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Facebook Legacy Contact
Facebook’s feature applies to a memorialized profile. According to the Help Centre, a legacy contact may write a pinned post, respond to new friend requests, update the profile or cover photo, and perform other listed management actions. The contact cannot log in as you, read your messages, or remove or edit past posts (Facebook Help Centre).
Choose the setting while you can use the account, tell the contact what you want the profile to communicate, and record that memorialization does not provide message access.
Google Inactive Account Manager
Google’s Inactive Account Manager is identified by the ABA and ACTEC as a platform option for legacy planning. Because setup screens and eligibility can change, review the current controls in your Google Account and record the trigger, selected contacts, data categories, and notification choices in your inventory (ABA guidance; ACTEC guide).
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Ask an estate-planning attorney in the governing jurisdiction to review authorization for digital assets and electronic communications in your will, trust, power of attorney, or another legally recognized record. The legal analysis may differ between ordinary files, financial property, private communications, business data, and cryptocurrency.
RUFADAA describes a framework in which a fiduciary’s traditional authority can extend to certain digital property, including computer files, web domains, and virtual currency. It also restricts access to electronic communications such as email, text messages, and social-media messages unless the user consented in an appropriate record. The model act does not itself apply everywhere; confirm the jurisdiction’s enacted law and how your documents interact with provider terms (Uniform Law Commission).
Do not copy a generic internet clause into your documents. A lawyer can address governing law, conflicts between a will and a trust, powers during incapacity, privacy preferences, and special handling for business or regulated records. Keep the legal document focused on authority and wishes, not on a list of changing passwords.
Step 6: Store credentials and instructions securely—but make them findable
Use a protected system for credentials and a separate inventory for instructions. A password manager can organize logins, recovery codes, and secure notes; evaluate its emergency-access and account-recovery behavior before relying on it. Do not assume that an estate representative can bypass multi-factor authentication or encryption.
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- My Personal Information
- My Medical Information
- Key Contact Information
- At the Time of My Passing
- My Dependents
- Create the inventory and disposition record without placing raw passwords in the will.
- Store credentials, recovery codes, wallet instructions, and device details under appropriate protection.
- Give the designated person a clear route to the information—for example, instructions for accessing a password manager, a sealed record, or a document safe.
- Keep an Apple Legacy Contact access key where the contact can retrieve it. Apple’s support instructions allow a printed key to be kept with estate-planning documents, provided it remains secure (Apple Support).
- Tell the person where the instructions are, without sending sensitive secrets through ordinary email or text.
A lockable document safe is optional; the essential requirement is controlled access and a reliable way for the right person to find the material. Keep a current note identifying the location even if the location itself is protected.
Step 7: Review the plan whenever circumstances change
Set a recurring review—at least annually is a practical choice—and update it immediately after any of these events:
- Opening or closing a significant account, wallet, domain, device, or subscription.
- Changing a password, recovery phone, authentication app, or security key.
- Changing your executor, trustee, power-of-attorney agent, or named legacy contact.
- Moving to another state or country, or changing the jurisdiction that governs your estate.
- Starting or ending a business, changing ownership, or adding a valuable digital property.
- A provider changes its legacy, memorialization, inactivity, or data-export process.
At each review, verify that the contact still has the access key or recovery method, that the provider setting remains enabled, and that your disposition still reflects your wishes.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happens to online accounts after death?
There is no single outcome. The result depends on the account type, the provider, the evidence supplied, your consent, and the law governing the estate.
- The representative locates the plan. They identify the account, desired action, responsible contact, and recovery route.
- They secure devices and ongoing services. They prevent remote wiping where lawful, stop unnecessary renewals, and preserve records needed for tax or business purposes.
- They use the provider’s process. This may involve a death certificate, an access key, proof of authority, memorialization request, or an inactivity setting.
- They separate property from communications. Files, domains, financial assets, and messages may have different access rules. A fiduciary appointment alone may not authorize reading private communications.
- They follow the written disposition. They preserve, download, transfer, memorialize, close, or delete only as permitted by law and provider terms.
For Apple Legacy Contact requests, the access key and death certificate are specifically part of Apple’s stated requirements. For a Facebook memorialized profile, the legacy contact’s powers remain limited and do not include logging in or reading messages.
Common failure points and how to prevent them
“My executor can access everything.”
That assumption can fail because electronic communications receive special protection and providers may require their own proof. Obtain jurisdiction-specific legal advice and create account-level consent where appropriate.
“The password list in my will is convenient.”
Wills can become part of a public court file, and passwords change. Keep credentials in a protected system and put only authority, wishes, and directions to the secure location in estate documents.
“A social-media legacy contact can manage the whole account.”
Features usually permit only defined actions. Facebook’s contact cannot log in, read messages, or edit past posts. Record those boundaries so the family does not waste time seeking powers the provider does not grant.
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“Digital purchases are inherited like physical books.”
Many purchases are licenses tied to an account. List them, preserve receipts if useful, and state that transfer is subject to the provider’s terms rather than promising access.
“A wallet address is enough for cryptocurrency.”
A public address does not provide signing authority. Document the lawful recovery process, where the necessary device or seed material is held, and who is qualified to use it. Avoid placing the secret in an unprotected estate file.
“I can set it once and forget it.”
Accounts, devices, contacts, laws, and provider tools change. A stale phone number or missing access key can make a carefully written plan unusable. Schedule reviews and record every material change.
Printable digital legacy checklist
- Inventory email, social, cloud, photo, website, domain, financial, cryptocurrency, device, subscription, and purchase accounts.
- For each item, record the provider, identifier, purpose, desired action, responsible person, and recovery route.
- Separate preserve, download, transfer, memorialize, close, and delete instructions.
- Identify administrative, personal-content, business, and financial or cryptocurrency responsibilities.
- Configure available provider tools, including Apple Legacy Contact, Facebook Legacy Contact, and Google Inactive Account Manager where suitable.
- Deliver and securely retain any required access key or recovery material.
- Ask a local estate-planning attorney to review wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and digital-asset authorization under the governing law.
- Keep passwords and seed phrases out of the will and general estate document.
- Tell the right person exactly where the protected instructions are stored.
- Review the plan after account, contact, device, business, provider, or jurisdiction changes.
Sources for legal and platform details
The ABA’s estate-planning guidance explains inventories, authorization, password handling, and platform tools (American Bar Association). The Uniform Law Commission describes RUFADAA’s model-law scope and limits (Uniform Law Commission). ACTEC provides examples of digital assets and planning issues (ACTEC). Apple’s current Legacy Contact requirements and exclusions are documented in its support article (Apple Support), and Facebook lists its memorialized-profile powers and restrictions in the Help Centre (Facebook Help Centre). Practical financial-planning considerations are also discussed by U.S. Bank (U.S. Bank guide).
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