Leaving Your Digital Legacy
Between Facebook, iTunes, email and digital banking and investment accounts, most of us lead pretty active lives online. Do you have a plan for what will happen to all your passwords and accounts when you pass away?
My mom, who passed away a few years ago, was a very careful and meticulous person who kept a notebook with all of her online account passwords. Mom was also a Morse code operator in the Royal Air Force during WWII, so all of her passwords were in code. I was lucky: She told me about the book and her codes. If she hadn’t, finding and deciphering her notes would have taken a very long time and could have held up important estate and financial planning tasks.
Like my mom, most of us live part of our lives online today. We have email and social media accounts. We purchase digital books and music. We pay our bills and do our banking online. Many virtual items cannot be left to heirs through our wills because we don’t actually own them; we just have licenses to view/read/listen to them. Many online accounts, like email and social media sites, don’t belong to us either. The businesses that administer them control what happens when our contracts are terminated by death.
So, how do we prepare to leave our digital legacies?
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
List all of your online accounts.
These might include:
- Email accounts
- Financial accounts and utilities, including checking or savings accounts, retirement accounts, mortgages, life insurance, gas and electric, phone or cable bills and tax-preparation services
- Social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
- Music, photos or books stored online
- Websites, blogs and licensed domain names
- Seller’s accounts on eBay, Etsy or Amazon
- Any online communities or listservs where you have been active
Make plans regarding what should happen to those accounts.
Do you want someone special to have access to your iTunes library? To your photos? Do you want certain emails saved and printed, or would you rather have the accounts purged? Would you prefer your social media accounts be deleted or turned into “memorial” accounts when possible? Would you like someone to post a final status update after your death?
Choose a “digital executor.”
Let that person know where you keep your passwords (and if they need to be decoded). Talk to your executor, but also leave detailed instructions on where and how to find passwords, user names, etc. You may be able to leave virtual items you actually own (e.g., photos you took, music you bought) to people in your will, so make sure your executor has all the information needed to access and download them. You may also want to consider “vaulting” your digital goods with a company that puts all of your digital information (including passwords) onto one online platform.
Whatever you decide, do make a decision. Your digital legacy is important. Make sure your heirs can “crack the codes” to access it.
To continue reading this article
please register for free
This is different from signing in to your print subscription
Why am I seeing this? Find out more here
Ken Moraif is the CEO and founder of Retirement Planners of America (RPOA), a Dallas-based wealth management and investment firm with over $3.58 billion in assets under management and serving 6,635 households in 48 states (as of Dec. 31, 2023).
-
Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Soars Ahead of Tesla Earnings
The EV stock rose nearly 2% ahead of its highly anticipated Q1 earnings report, due after tonight's close.
By Karee Venema Published
-
GM Stock Accelerates After Earnings Beat
General Motors beat expectations for the first quarter and raised its outlook for the year. Here's what you need to know.
By Joey Solitro Published
-
Four Tips to Make Your Sales Presentation a Winner
Being prepared and not being boring can go a long way toward persuading a potential customer to buy into what you’re offering.
By H. Dennis Beaver, Esq. Published
-
Pros and Cons of Waiting Until 70 to Claim Social Security
Waiting until 70 to file for Social Security benefits comes with a higher check, but there could be financial consequences to consider for you and your family.
By Patrick M. Simasko, J.D. Published
-
Now Could Be Time for Private Investors to Make Their Mark
The venture capital crunch may be easing, but it isn't over yet. That means there could be direct investment opportunities for private deal investors.
By Thomas Ruggie, ChFC®, CFP® Published
-
How to Stop Boredom From Ruining Your Happy Retirement
Retirees who explore new interests and have an active social life are more likely to find joy — and even greatness — in the newfound freedom of retirement.
By Richard P. Himmer, PhD Published
-
The Life-or-Death Answers We Owe Our Loved Ones
How our life ends isn’t always up to us, but that question too often must be answered by loved ones and health care workers who don’t know what we would want.
By Joel Theisen, RN Published
-
Hot Tips for Home Buyers and Sellers Right Now
Real estate looks to be especially hopping this spring, thanks to pent-up demand and buyers adjusting to higher mortgage rates. Here’s how you can prepare.
By Pam Krueger Published
-
Is 100 the New 70?
Eating well, exercising, getting plenty of sleep and managing chronic stress can help make you a SuperAger. Funding that long life requires longevity literacy.
By Phil Wright, Certified Fund Specialist Published
-
Nine Lessons to Be Learned From the Hilton Family Trust Contest
Disclaimers, good communication, post-marital agreements and more could help avoid conflict in a family after the owners of a wealthy estate pass away.
By John M. Goralka Published