Digital Legacy Planning: Steps to Manage Your Online Presence and Digital Assets After Death

In today’s digital age, our online presence continues to grow, making digital legacy planning an important aspect of estate management. Ensuring your social media accounts, email, and other digital assets are managed after you pass away can relieve your loved ones of a complex burden while ensuring your wishes are respected. Here are the key steps to effectively manage your digital legacy:

1. Create an Inventory of Digital Assets

The first step in digital legacy planning is to take stock of your online presence. This includes your social media accounts, email addresses, cloud storage, subscriptions, financial accounts, and any websites or blogs you may run. List all these digital assets and ensure that you have login credentials securely stored. You may wish to use a password manager to keep your details safe and easily accessible by a trusted person when needed.

Be sure to include any personal files, such as photos, videos, or important documents stored online, as part of this inventory. These digital keepsakes are just as valuable as physical belongings and may need to be passed on to your family.

2. Appoint a Digital Executor

A digital executor is someone you trust to manage your digital assets after your death. This person will handle the task of closing accounts, securing personal information, and ensuring your online presence is managed in accordance with your wishes. You may choose a family member, a close friend, or even a legal professional as your digital executor. Be sure to have this role clearly defined in your will or other legal documentation.

It’s important to inform your chosen executor of your wishes regarding your digital assets, whether they should be memorialised, deleted, or transferred. Ensure they have access to the inventory you’ve created, including instructions on how to handle each account.

3. Decide What Should Happen to Your Social Media Accounts

Most social media platforms provide options for managing accounts after a person passes away. For example, Facebook allows you to appoint a legacy contact who can either memorialise the account or have it removed. Instagram offers similar memorialisation options, and Twitter permits loved ones to request account deactivation.

Make decisions about how you want your accounts handled, whether they should remain online as a tribute or be closed to protect your privacy. Specify these preferences in your digital legacy plan and make sure your digital executor is aware of them.

4. Manage Your Email Accounts and Subscriptions

Email accounts are often tied to other online services, so it’s important to include them in your digital legacy planning. Decide whether you want your email accounts closed or accessed by a trusted person. Many email providers, such as Gmail and Outlook, have policies regarding the closure of deceased individuals’ accounts, and it’s worth checking these in advance to ensure your wishes are carried out.

Likewise, review your online subscriptions, such as streaming services, magazines, or other memberships. Ensure these are properly closed or transferred to another user. Many of these services auto-renew, so it’s crucial to address them as part of your planning to avoid unnecessary expenses for your estate.

5. Back Up Important Digital Files

If you have important digital files, such as family photos, financial documents, or personal projects stored on cloud services, make sure they are backed up. This will ensure that your loved ones can easily access these memories or important information after your death. Consider using an external hard drive, or providing your digital executor with access to your cloud storage accounts, so they can securely manage these files.

6. Include Digital Legacy in Your Will

To ensure your digital legacy wishes are legally protected, include instructions for handling your digital assets in your will. This formalises your intentions and ensures that your executor has the authority to manage your digital presence in accordance with your wishes. Work with a legal professional to ensure that all necessary steps are taken and that your digital legacy plan aligns with local laws.

7. Update Your Plan Regularly

As your online presence and digital assets evolve over time, it’s important to revisit and update your digital legacy plan regularly. Make sure that your inventory, login credentials, and preferences for account management are current. This will ensure that your digital legacy is accurately managed when the time comes.