Digital Estate Planning Guide: Everything Your Executor Needs to Know

What a Digital Estate Plan Needs to Cover

A digital estate plan ensures your executor can actually find, access, and close your online accounts after death. Without one, they're left guessing which accounts exist, locked out by passwords and two-factor authentication, and navigating each platform's bureaucratic recovery process individually.

The plan doesn't need to be complicated. It needs to be complete.

Step 1: Build a Digital Asset Inventory

List every account across these categories:

• Email: Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, ProtonMail, work email
• Financial: Online banking, investment apps, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, crypto exchanges
• Social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit
• Cloud storage: Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive
• Subscriptions: Streaming, software, news, app store purchases
• Domains and websites: Registrars, hosting providers, CMS logins
• Business accounts: Freelance platforms, affiliate programs, e-commerce stores

For each account, record the service name, your username or email address, and how you access it (password manager, written down, memorized).

Step 2: Configure Platform Legacy Tools

For the data and choices each service covers, these free tools can take priority over conflicting directions in your will. They are a direct way for your family to request access:

Google Inactive Account Manager. Designate up to 10 contacts to receive your Google data (Gmail, Drive, Photos) after 3 to 18 months of account inactivity. Takes two minutes to set up in your Google account settings.

Apple Legacy Contact. Designate one or more contacts who can request access to your iCloud data (Photos, Notes, Mail, Files) after death with the access key and a death certificate. Set up in your iPhone Settings under Sign-In & Security (called Password & Security on older releases).

Facebook Legacy Contact. Choose one person to manage your memorialized profile — they can write a pinned post and respond to friend requests but cannot read your messages.

Step 3: Secure Your Password Manager

If you use a password manager (and you should), set up emergency access:

• Bitwarden: Designate a trusted contact who can request vault access after a waiting period of 1 to 90 days. LastPass uses a pre-set delay; Keeper uses a user-configured delay.
• 1Password: Print your Emergency Kit (contains your Secret Key and space for Master Password) and store it in a safe deposit box or fireproof safe. Family and team account recovery may also be available through an organizer or administrator.
• Dashlane: Manually share critical entries with a trusted person, or export an encrypted DASH backup and share its password separately

If you don't use a password manager, write your key passwords on paper and store them in a sealed envelope in a secure physical location. Tell your executor where it is.

Step 4: Document Cryptocurrency

Crypto requires special handling because self-custodied assets can be permanently lost if no seed phrase, private key, or accessible device remains:

• Exchange accounts (Coinbase, Kraken, Binance): document the exchange name and your account email. Your executor can file an estate claim with the provider's required estate documents.
• Hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor): store the typically 12-, 18-, or 24-word seed phrase in a fireproof safe, separate from the device. Never store it digitally.
• Software wallets: document the wallet name and where the seed phrase is stored.

Step 5: Write Instructions in Your Will

Add a digital assets section to your will that:

1. Names the fiduciary with authority under applicable law to access and manage digital assets; a "digital executor" title alone does not create legal authority
2. Expressly authorizes custodians to disclose the contents of electronic communications as the account holder's consent under the Stored Communications Act, subject to applicable law and provider requirements
3. States your preferences: which accounts to memorialize vs. delete, which data to preserve vs. destroy
4. References (but does not contain) your password storage location

Don't put passwords in the will itself — wills become public record during probate.

Step 6: Tell Your Executor

The best plan is useless if your executor doesn't know it exists. Have a conversation:

• Where is the password manager (or password list)?
• Which accounts are financially active?
• What are your preferences for social media (memorialize vs. delete)?
• Where is the crypto seed phrase?
• Who is your estate attorney?

You don't need to share passwords now — just make sure they know where to look and that a plan exists.

The Digital Estate Toolkit provides the complete inventory worksheets, platform-by-platform instructions, and ready-to-use communication scripts that make each of these steps straightforward.