Have you completed a Digital Will? It’s a good time to begin.
- What is at stake? If you or a loved one has a tragic life event and online accesses have not been shared/granted, then your surviving family member cannot access:
- iPhone, bank, social media, email, family photos, Facebook, Amazon, frequent flier, utility, Venmo, PayPal Accounts (and more).
- What steps can you and your loved one take to make the transition after a tragic life event manageable?
- Make a list of everything you access online and login credentials- use a password manager to help you or, create a password-protected Excel spreadsheet, update this list at least once a year (but preferably once a quarter)
- Assign someone you trust as online executor of your digital will (add this as an attachment to your estate documents or a clause.
- Determine what you want done with each account (save, close, etc.)
- Create a Legacy Contact- this is a person you select to care for your account after you pass away (relevant to iPhone, Facebook accounts)
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Most online providers will want a copy of the death certificate to close an account.
- What does a loved one do if a tragic life event occurs without this access being granted or there is no account documentation available?
- Check and monitor their email to look for any existing accounts as well as looking through archived emails. Be aware that if access has not been granted to email accounts, trying to gain it could be impossible.
- Look through credit card statements.
Online accounts and digital media are valuable. It is important that you do not overlook the amount of information and assets you have online that are only accessible through protected passwords. To ensure the security of your digital assets, and in the event of an unexpected life occurrence, it is important to consider putting a digital will in place.