Planning for your death may not be pleasant, but it’s important for family left behind. Most know things such as a will, power of attorney and burial and funeral wishes should be part of that plan. But planning for your digital legacy is equally important.
“I think a lot of us take for granted how deeply intertwined our lives are with the digital world. Ignoring that can really leave a confusing mess for loved ones to handle, and even lead to security risks or loss of important data,” said James Crosland, an estate planning attorney at Rockville, Maryland-based Stein Sperling.
He recommends starting with an inventory of all devices and online platforms, and designating emergency access to them. For social media, most platforms make thinking about a user’s digital legacy straight forward.
“A lot of platforms like Google or Facebook offer the ability to set up legacy contacts or account management settings, which essentially allow you to designate somebody to manage your account after you pass away,” Crosland said.
“Do want them to be a digital memorial? Do you want that information to be just accessible by family members, or frankly do you just want it deleted? Letting your loved ones know what you want to do would really go a long way.”
Passwords are another potential hurdle for survivors to overcome. Keeping an accurate and up-to-date offline list of all passwords is probably unrealistic, with too many logins and passwords that change. There are many password managers available that can store passwords across multiple logins, and most allow for the designation of an emergency contact.
A social media legacy may not be at the top of the list when planning for your death. Finances is something much more important. Most of what we do financially — paying bills, saving, investing — is done online now. Preparing for that helps guide survivors as well.
“I would start by listing all bank accounts, retirement funds, auto-pay subscriptions, investment platforms and basically map out your financial digital presence,” Crosland said.
Idle financial accounts are ripe for financial fraud. A recent report by Express VPN estimated by 2100, the U.S. could see almost 700 million deceased accounts, nearly double the projected U.S. population.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
