If you use email, social media, cloud storage or websites, your estate plan may need to address what happens to those accounts, files and other digital property after your death. Without clear instructions, your personal representative, the person responsible for settling your affairs, may have difficulty identifying what you have or determining what access is allowed. Reviewing these digital assets now can make your instructions clearer for them.
Here are five areas to consider:
1. Online financial records and access
Make a list of banks, investment firms and payment services you access online. The money itself is not a digital asset simply because you manage it electronically, but your representative may still need information about where the accounts are held.
2. Websites and domain names
If you own a website or domain name, record the company that registered your domain and the service that hosts your website, as well as who should manage them after your death. This information can be especially important if the website supports a business or generates income.
3. Social media accounts
Review the options each platform provides for turning an account into a memorial, deleting it or transferring limited control of an account after death. Some services let you name a person to manage limited account functions.
4. Cloud storage and digital files
Identify services that store family photos, important documents or other files. Consider which materials you want preserved and who should be able to access them.
5. Email accounts and subscriptions
Email can help your representative identify other online services you used. Also review paid subscriptions and other recurring online services that your representative may need to cancel.
Make digital access part of your estate plan
Some account providers offer tools for deciding what happens to your information. For example, Google offers Inactive Account Manager, while Apple allows you to designate a Legacy Contact.
Under Kentucky law, if an account provider offers an online tool that lets you direct whether some or all of your digital assets may be disclosed, directions you make through that tool override contrary instructions in a will, trust, power of attorney or other record, as long as you can modify or delete those directions at any time.
Keeping these settings consistent with your estate plan can help avoid confusion. Legal guidance can help you coordinate your online choices with your estate documents and make your wishes clearer.