Most people have a traditional will — or at least have thought about it. Far fewer have thought about what happens to their email, their photos, their bank accounts, and their streaming subscriptions when they die. This guide walks you through the basics of digital estate planning from scratch.
Why Your Digital Life Needs a Plan
Consider everything that exists in your digital life right now:
- Years of emails, contacts, and calendar history
- Thousands of photos stored in cloud services
- Online bank accounts and investment portfolios
- Social media profiles full of memories and connections
- Subscriptions still charging a credit card after you're gone
- Possibly cryptocurrency worth significant money — or permanently inaccessible without a key
- Domain names and websites you own
- Digital purchases — e-books, iTunes libraries, game libraries
Without a plan, your family faces two problems simultaneously: they may be unable to access valuable accounts and assets, and they may not know which accounts need to be closed or what recurring charges need to be stopped.
Step 1: Take Inventory of Your Digital Assets
You can't plan for what you haven't identified. Set aside an hour and create a list of your digital accounts in these categories:
| Category | Examples | Action needed |
|---|---|---|
| Financial accounts | Online banking, PayPal, Venmo, investment accounts | Beneficiary designations, executor access |
| Cryptocurrency | Bitcoin, Ethereum, NFTs, exchange accounts | URGENT: secure seed phrase, written instructions |
| Gmail, Outlook, work email | Decide: preserve or delete | |
| Social media | Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok | Memorialize, delete, or leave active |
| Cloud storage | Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive | Who should access and inherit files? |
| Photos and videos | Google Photos, iCloud, Flickr, local backups | Who inherits? How are they backed up? |
| Subscriptions | Netflix, Spotify, Adobe, gym apps | Cancel after death to stop charges |
| Reward programs | Airline miles, hotel points, store rewards | May be transferable — check policies |
| Domain names/websites | GoDaddy, Squarespace, WordPress | Transfer or let expire |
Step 2: Decide What Happens to Each Account
For each major account, decide one of three outcomes:
- Transfer: Financial accounts with beneficiary designations pass directly. Some digital assets can be transferred if terms of service allow it.
- Preserve/memorialize: Social media platforms allow memorialization. Photo collections can be inherited by family members.
- Delete/close: Most subscription services, email accounts, and social accounts should be closed if you don't want them memorialized.
Step 3: Handle Cryptocurrency Now
This is urgent. Cryptocurrency — Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital currencies — is controlled entirely by whoever holds the private key or seed phrase. Without it, the funds are permanently inaccessible, even if everyone knows they exist.
If you own cryptocurrency:
- Write down your seed phrase on paper (never digitally — it can be compromised)
- Store it in a fireproof safe or safety deposit box
- Tell your executor it exists and where to find it
- Include instructions for how to access your wallet
See our complete guide on digital accounts after death, which covers cryptocurrency in detail.
Step 4: Use Platform Tools Proactively
Several major platforms offer built-in tools for managing your account after death:
- Google Inactive Account Manager — designate a trusted contact and set a period of inactivity; they receive access to specified data. Set up at myaccount.google.com.
- Apple Legacy Contact — designate someone who can request access to your iCloud data after death. Set up in Settings → [Your Name] → Legacy Contact.
- Facebook Legacy Contact — designate someone to manage your memorialized profile. Set up in Settings → Memorialization Settings.
Setting up all three takes about 20 minutes and is one of the highest-value digital estate planning steps you can take today.
Step 5: Create a Digital Access Document
A digital access document is a private record that helps your executor find and manage your accounts. It should include:
- A list of your important accounts (email, banking, social, cloud)
- Instructions for how to find your passwords (e.g., "Passwords are in Bitwarden — the master password is stored in the fireproof safe")
- Any specific instructions (e.g., "Please delete my Twitter account but memorialize my Facebook")
- Cryptocurrency wallet locations and how to access seed phrases
Do not put passwords directly in your will — wills become public records through probate. Store this information securely and separately, with instructions for your executor on how to find it.
FinalKeepSake's secure Vault is designed for exactly this — a private, organized place to store digital account information with access instructions for trusted contacts.
Step 6: Review Your Digital Estate Plan Regularly
Update your digital inventory when you:
- Open a new significant account
- Change password managers
- Buy or sell cryptocurrency
- Start or close a website or online business
- Get a new device with significant local storage