Digital Estate Planning: Do your loved ones know your passwords?
Unmanaged social media accounts are springboards for scammers to prey on your loved one’s friends, online banking and investments can go untended, and bills can go unpaid.
How do I make a strong digital estate plan?
Inventory Your Digital Assets: Document your online accounts, including your email, bill-pay services, social media, cloud and photo storage, subscriptions (Hulu, Disney+), and financial accounts.
Store Login Info: Write down (and keep updated!) your login information and passwords. Trust us — this is time well spent. Tip: A secure online password manager can help. These tools usually make it easy (but safe) to share passwords with loved ones.
Use Online Legacy Tools: Many platforms, like Facebook and Google, offer legacy features that allow you to designate someone to manage your account after your passing.
Include Digital Assets in Your Will: Make sure that your estate plan lists your financial accounts (bank/investment accounts, insurance policies, digital payment systems) and any specific instructions needed to access them, particularly for cryptocurrencies.
Specify Your Wishes: Some platforms have options to “memorialize” your account so that it is available for viewing but not editing. List whether you want this, for your accounts to be deleted, or something else.
Keep Your Digital Estate Plan Secure and Accessible! Make sure that your plan is updated and your loved ones know how to access it.
If you have any questions or need help setting up your digital estate plan, feel free to contact us!