Most of us have phones, tablets or computers. Using those devices we have created online accounts, files, photos, and music, to name just some of the digital content associated with us. A significant amount of your life’s data exists online, and some of it only exists online. Plan ahead to determine what happens to your content, and devices. State your wishes explicitly.
A digital legacy plan helps your family and friends. It also ensures that your wishes can be followed, including any information you choose to remain private forever.
Many people avoid thinking about what happens after they’re gone, but the alternative is much worse. Each state has laws about what happens, and how you can specify your wishes. We will use Massachusetts law in our example, but please check your own location’s rules.
What are Digital Assets?
You might think your digital assets aren’t worth anything. The value of these assets goes beyond the monetary, it is also emotional and logistical.
- Photos – most photos taken today exist only in digital format, and many, if not most, are stored online
- Music – purchased digital music and playlists
- Social Media – Facebook, Instagram – content, lists of friends and followers, and interactions
- Email – access to people, records, accounts, resetting passwords
- Documents – stored on a computer or in the cloud – statements, letters and documents you have created or received
- Subscriptions – to games, streaming services, reading materials
- Cryptocurrency – a growing category that could have a large value and very strict security
What Happens if I Don’t Plan?
If you don’t prepare a plan for your digital assets, then there are several things that might happen.
Legally
- Many companies require a court order to allow access to accounts. This is costly and takes time, and access is not guaranteed.
- People may be unable to discover where your assets, as well as where your obligations, are located. Many people only receive information from banks, credit cards and other accounts in email form, or by logging into a website.
- Without access to social media accounts, no one can monitor your page and respond to comments and messages. This could allow posts to remain on your page that you or your family wouldn’t want.
- Your devices may be rendered useless. Without a passcode and administrative password, no one can clear your device. This means that no one can use it or sell it.
- Without phone or email access, many other accounts like banks, stores, etc cannot have passwords reset.
Practically
- If someone has your devices’ passcodes and your passwords, they can essentially act as though they are you. This will work unless/until the company shuts down the account.
- All materials on your devices will be accessible to that person, even if you would like to keep some private.
- The person with access may not act in a way you would approve of, and to outside people it will look like it is you.
Think carefully about what you want to happen after you’re gone. If you don’t plan for the future of your online existence, then it may effectively disappear, or alternately people may gain access to material you meant to keep private. Prepare ahead of time to assure that your wishes are met.
Create a Plan
Everyone should maintain a list of their online accounts. This should include usernames and passwords and be stored somewhere safe. Include your login credentials for devices; phones, laptops, and tablets. Also, include a list of automatic payment subscriptions that are active.
Using a Password Manager for this is an excellent plan. The password to the Password Manager is the only one your representative will need access to. This also relieves you from updating your list every time a password changes.
Apple devices have a built in password manager called Passwords. Browsers like Chrome and Edge can also save passwords.
These systems do not always work as intended, so please make additional copies of important data. Decide which information you want to preserve and make regular back ups. You can download social media content, back up email and keep copies of important documents and photos. Consider multiple back ups; e.g. cloud storage, an external thumb or hard drives; and replace devices every few years to avoid data loss through device aging/failure.
Wills and trusts
In your will or trust, specify the person or people who you trust to have access to your digital assets. There may be specific terminology required in your state. Next be specific about what you want done for each account. Some accounts provide specific options that you can choose. Use their terminology. Document the choices you have made, especially if you have utilized the options in a website or app.
In Massachusetts, you are required to document your wishes in your will or trust, and also through the online tools that are available from each provider. Please discuss this with your own attorney in order to get the most benefit in your circumstances.
Review the legacy options on your accounts and make sure that your loved ones have the information that they need to access/manage or delete these accounts in line with your wishes. The terms of service of the individual accounts may not allow someone to log in to a deceased loved one’s account, regardless of your intention.
Update your estate planning documents to authorize your power of attorney, executor, and trustee to have access to your accounts. This must be done explicitly. Some access ends upon your death, so be sure that you have a plan in place for both before and after you die.
Examples of Options on Common websites
The following list is not exhaustive, but summarizes the options/requirements for some of the most popular platforms.
If you use any Google services (Gmail, YouTube etc.), you can set up the Inactive Account Manager. Decide which information in your account can be shared. Designate specific trusted contacts. You specify what access your trusted contact will have. Access is triggered after several months of inactivity on your account.
Apple
Under the Apple terms of service your Apple ID/ iCloud/iTunes account ‘is non-transferable and any rights to your Apple ID or Content within your Account terminate upon your death.’ Make sure that you have the data (photos/documents/music) that you wish to keep backed up on an external drive as well as in iCloud. In practical terms, your representative may be able to log in as though they are you, but you can’t rely on this access.
You can designate one or more people as Legacy Contacts. After Apple is notified of your death, your Legacy Contact has three years to download your content. They cannot take over and use your account. They will not have access to saved passwords in that account. In addition, after Apple confirms the Legacy Contact, they will remove activation locks on all devices logged into that Apple ID. This allows the contact to wipe and reuse, or give away the devices.
Yahoo
Email accounts at Yahoo are non-transferable. The policy states – ‘Yahoo cannot provide passwords or allow access to the deceased’s account, including account content such as email.’. They will work with an authorized contact to remove/delete the account.
Facebook allows you to have your account memorialized or deleted. Set up a Legacy Contact, and then this person will be allowed certain access to your memorialized account. Facebook strongly recommends that you do this. You can download a copy of your Facebook content at any time.
Instagram allows the option of memorializing or deleting an account. They do not currently give you the option of setting this preference in advance, but you can download your Instagram content from within your settings.
Twitter’s Terms of Service state ‘We are unable to provide account access to anyone regardless of their relationship to the deceased.’. Authorized contacts can only remove or delete accounts. You can download a copy of your Twitter archive at any time.
Summary
Another good resource, covering both the legal and consumer issues, is Jim Lamm’s Digital Passing blog. Mr. Lamm includes a Digital Audit form, which guides you through the process.
The Conversation Project is a resource that goes well beyond technology issues. One of their many resources is a What Matters To Me Workbook that could be helpful.
We recently gave a presentation on this topic and you can access the slides here:
If you would like some help to prepare a plan for your digital assets, just call or email and we’ll be happy to assist you! If you have specific questions, or if our terminology isn’t clear, please use our contact form to send us a message. Thank you!
