Digital Estate Planning: What Happens to Your Digital Life After You're Gone?

As our personal, financial, and business lives become increasingly digital, planning for those assets has become more important. The person who created or managed an account may be the only one who knows how to access it. After incapacity or death, families may face practical, legal, privacy, and technology barriers. Digital estate planning is about making important information findable, secure, and aligned with your wishes. 

Key Takeaways 

• Digital assets include much more than cryptocurrency. 
• Families may have difficulty finding or accessing important online accounts. 
• Platform terms, online tools, and estate planning documents can all affect access. 
• Access, ownership, and transferability are separate considerations. 
• Planning ahead can help trusted individuals carry out your wishes. 

Why Digital Estate Planning Matters 

Most people have digital assets, but many have not created a plan for them. As a result, families may face uncertainty about who can access, preserve, transfer, close, or delete important digital information. Many estate plans also do not address online accounts, electronic communications, or platform-specific tools. 

Families may not know which accounts exist, where records are stored, or which email addresses are tied to important accounts. Access may require passwords, passcodes, legal authority, or platform-specific permissions. These challenges often become apparent only after access is needed. 

What Is a Digital Asset? 

A digital asset is an electronic record in which a person has a right or interest. The term is much broader than cryptocurrency and can include accounts, records, files, content, domains, and other electronically stored information. 

Common examples include: 

• Email and social media accounts 
• Digital photos and videos 
• Cloud storage and subscription services 
• Online banking and investment access 
• Cryptocurrency and digital wallets 
• Website domains and online businesses 
• Digital documents and medical records 

For planning purposes, focus on the accounts, records, and content that matter most to you and your family. 

Who Can Access Your Digital Assets? 

The planning question is not simply who receives the login information for a digital asset. It is whether someone can find it, lawfully access it, and carry out your wishes. 

Online service providers establish their own terms. Some accounts may be non-transferable. Some digital purchases may be licensed rather than owned. Certain agreements restrict password sharing or account sharing, and having login credentials may not provide legal authority to use an account. 

That is why access, ownership, and transferability should be viewed as separate questions. 

What the Law Can and Cannot Do 

A fiduciary is someone authorized to manage another person's affairs, such as an executor, trustee, conservator, investment advisor, or agent acting under a power of attorney. Digital assets can create new questions about how that authority is exercised. 

The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) establishes rules for  fiduciary access to digital assets after death or incapacity. It helps fiduciaries manage certain forms of digital property, although access to the content of emails, texts, and other electronic communications may still require the user's consent. 

RUFADAA does not create rights the user never had. If an account agreement limits ownership or transferability, those restrictions may still apply. 

How Online Tools and Instructions Interact 

Digital estate planning often depends on which instructions take priority. Platform-based tools, such as legacy contact or account-planning features, may override conflicting instructions in estate planning documents. 

Estate planning documents, including wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, may also provide important direction regarding digital assets and electronic communications. When neither source provides direction, account terms and applicable law may help determine what access or disclosure is available. 

For this reason, it’s recommended to keep your platform settings and estate planning documents consistent. 

Planning Steps to Consider Now 

Digital estate planning begins with organization. Create an inventory of important accounts, records, and digital property. Record where information is located and securely organize usernames, passwords, passcodes, and recovery information. 

Decide what should be preserved, transferred, closed, or deleted. Review whether your will, trust, and power of attorney adequately address digital assets and electronic communications. Coordinate those documents with any directions provided through platform tools. 

Review platform settings for accounts that matter most and make sure trusted individuals know where important information can be found if it is ever needed. 

Common Missteps to Avoid 

Common mistakes include: 

• Assuming a password solves every access issue 
• Assuming every account can be transferred 
• Leaving digital assets out of estate planning documents 
• Ignoring platform-specific legacy planning features 
• Creating unsecured password lists 
• Failing to update plans as accounts and wishes change 

Final Thoughts 

Digital assets are part of everyday life, but many people have not planned for how those assets should be managed if they become unavailable. Creating an inventory, documenting your wishes, coordinating legal documents, and reviewing platform settings can help make important information easier to locate and manage when it matters most. 

Are you ready to discuss your digital estate planning? We’d love to have a conversation. Schedule a complimentary meeting with us today.