Tips for Passing on Your Digital Accounts

As the first wave of people who relied heavily on the internet die, the passing of digital accounts is becoming more important. Surviving family members may want access to the deceased’s online accounts in order to contact family and friends, access pictures, or access the deceased’s virtual assets, a market worth over $1 billion in the U.S. alone. 

A few states have enacted statutes addressing access to online accounts; however, family members are often unable to get access without court orders. To make this task easier for your family, some tips for passing your digital legacy include:  

• Make a list of all of your online accounts and passwords. Decide which ones should be deleted and which ones will pass to your heirs. 
• Nominate an executor for your digital accounts. There are companies that specialize in the handling and passing on of this information. 
• Include your digital assets and the appointment of your digital executor in your will.

See Maija Palmer, How to Pass on Your Passwords, Fin. Times, April 14, 2010; see also my prior posts on digital estate planning here, here, and here. 

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this to my attention.