Digital Estate First Steps: What to Do in the First Week

In the first days after a death, no one is thinking about digital accounts. You're making funeral arrangements, notifying family, and trying to hold yourself together. But a handful of time-sensitive steps in that first week can prevent months of complications later.

This isn't about tackling the full estate. It's about the five things that matter right now.

First 24 Hours: Secure the Devices

Find and charge every device. Phone, laptop, tablet, desktop, smartwatch. Plug them in and don't let them die. A phone that powers off may require the passcode to restart, and once the passcode screen is up, the biometric shortcut (Face ID, fingerprint) won't work until the code is entered.

Don't factory reset anything. Don't let anyone wipe a phone "to get it ready" for a new user. The data on these devices is the estate's master key.

Lock the devices in a safe place. Family members may want to look through photos or messages. Understandable — but until you know what's on those devices, protect the chain of custody. Screenshots of a bank login or a crypto seed phrase can be worth thousands.

First 48 Hours: Keep the Phone Plan Active

Call the carrier — but don't cancel. Explain that the account holder has died and you need to maintain the phone number. Many carriers will transfer the account to an executor or surviving family member. If they insist on cancellation, ask about porting the number to a prepaid SIM.

The phone number is the linchpin for two-factor authentication. If the number is cancelled, every account that sends SMS verification codes becomes dramatically harder to access. This single step saves more time than anything else in the first week.

First 48 Hours: Pull the Financial Trail

Check the last three months of bank and credit card statements. Flag every recurring charge — subscription services, cloud storage, insurance add-ons, gym memberships, app store purchases. This is your first digital asset inventory: the money trail shows you which accounts exist.

You're not cancelling anything yet. You're building the map.

First Week: Gather Legal Documents

Order certified death certificates. Request at least 10 copies through the funeral home or your local vital statistics office. Many providers request a certified copy, but requirements differ; check each provider's instructions before sending an original.

Start the probate process. File the will (if one exists) with the probate court and petition for Letters Testamentary if you are appointed executor. Some providers require court-issued authority; Coinbase, for example, accepts Letters Testamentary or a Small Estate Affidavit for an estate claim. Check each provider's requirements before assuming these letters are the only route.

If the estate is small enough to qualify under your state's simplified probate threshold, ask about a Small Estate Affidavit — it's faster and cheaper than full probate.

First Week: Check for Pre-Configured Legacy Tools

Before you start contacting platforms manually, check whether the deceased already set up the easy path:

• Google Inactive Account Manager — sends data to trusted contacts after a set inactivity period
• Apple Digital Legacy Contact — designated person can request iCloud data with an access key
• Facebook Legacy Contact — can manage a memorialized profile
• Password manager emergency access — Bitwarden, LastPass, and Keeper all have timed emergency access features

If any of these were configured, they provide a platform-designated route that can reduce extra steps. They do not remove every document requirement: an Apple Legacy Contact, for example, needs both the access key and death certificate.

What Not to Do This Week

• Don't cancel credit cards yet — you need the statements to find subscriptions
• Don't delete any accounts — download data first, always
• Don't share passwords with other family members until you've inventoried the accounts — you need to maintain a clear chain of custody for legal purposes
• Don't log into accounts with saved passwords without understanding the legal implications — using credentials may conflict with a provider's terms or raise unauthorized-access concerns

The Digital Estate Toolkit organizes the entire first-week-through-first-year process into a phased timeline with the specific documents, platform links, and request templates for each step.