Step-by-step guide

Digital Estate Planning 101

By Jason Su · Updated September 18, 2026

Digital estate planning means deciding, while you still can, what happens to the parts of your life that live online: your accounts, your files, your photos, and the logins that open them. Everything you would put in a filing cabinet now has an online twin, and that twin has no key your family can find in a drawer. This guide covers what counts, why it matters, and the three things worth doing this week.

What counts as a digital account

Most people underestimate this list. It includes:

• Money. Bank and credit card accounts, brokerage and retirement logins, payment apps, and any account that can move money.
• Email. The master key. Whoever can open your email can reset almost everything else.
• Records and files. Cloud storage, scanned documents, tax software, and anything you have stopped printing.
• Photos and video. Often the single most valued thing left behind, and the most likely to be locked away.
• Social accounts. Including the ones you barely use but that still identify you.
• Subscriptions. Streaming, storage, memberships, and anything that charges a card every month.
• Devices. Phones and computers with their own passcodes, plus the accounts that unlock them.
• Government and medical portals. Social Security, Medicare, insurance, and pharmacy logins.

If you are not sure whether something belongs on the list, ask one question: if my family could not open this, would it cause a problem? If yes, it belongs.

Why it matters more than most people expect

1. Locked out is the default. Unlike a filing cabinet, an online account does not open for the person who needs it most. It opens for whoever has the password. Without a plan, your family’s realistic options are to guess, or to spend months working through each company’s process — and many companies will only close an account, not hand it over.

2. The photos are the part families grieve. Money is usually findable. A decade of photographs, if nobody can open the account, is gone.

3. Things keep charging. Subscriptions do not stop because you did. Family members end up paying for storage, software, and streaming they cannot cancel because they cannot log in.

4. Money is genuinely at risk. Payment apps and bank logins sitting in an unlocked phone are a real target. Accounts that stay open are also a known target for identity theft after a passing — something the Federal Trade Commission warns families about directly in its consumer guidance.

5. Paperwork alone is not enough. A will can name who should receive your belongings. It does not hand over a password. Those are two different mechanisms, and you need both.

The three things to do this week

1. List your accounts (30 minutes)

Do not try to list everything from memory in one sitting. Open your email and search for the word “receipt” — almost every account you have has emailed you one. Work backward from there.

Write down three things per account: what it is, what it is for, and where the login is stored. The free Password Log Sheet is built for exactly this, and it deliberately has no column for the password itself.

2. Put the logins in a password manager, and name an emergency contact (45 minutes)

This is the step that makes the list useful. A password manager stores your logins behind one master password, and its emergency access feature lets a person you name request access if you cannot answer for a set period.

We walk through the whole setup, including the conversation to have afterward, in How to Leave Digital Passwords to Family.

One detail people skip: print the recovery code and put it somewhere physically safe. Without it, a forgotten master password locks everyone out permanently — including you.

3. Decide what should happen to each account (20 minutes)

For each important account, write one line: should it be closed, kept running, or given to someone?

• Accounts that can move money: close them.
• Photos, email, and cloud storage: you usually want these preserved, not deleted.
• Subscriptions: cancel them.
• Anything with sentimental or family value: decide who should have it.

Record the answer next to the account on your sheet. This is the step that turns a list into a plan.

Do you need a “digital executor”?

You will see the phrase digital executor used online. Here is the plain version: it is not a legal role, and you cannot appoint one in the way you appoint someone in a will. What people usually mean is the person I have named as my trusted contact in my password manager.

So the practical answer is: you do not need a separate legal appointment. You need two things instead:

1. A trusted contact named in your password manager — this is what actually gives them access.
2. A note in your will saying what should happen to your online accounts and files, so the person handling your affairs knows your wishes.

If you have an attorney, mention the digital side when you talk about your will. Many people never bring it up.

Common mistakes

• Trying to write down every password. You will not keep it current, and a stale list is worse than none. Store them in a manager; record only where they live.
• Naming a trusted contact and never telling them. If they do not know the vault exists, nothing happens.
• Forgetting the recovery code. This is the single most common way a well-planned vault becomes unopenable.
• Writing passwords in a phone note. Notes sync to places you may not control, and they are the first thing anyone with the phone will read.
• Assuming the companies will help. Some will, some will only close the account, and each has its own process. Knowing what exists is still the biggest hurdle — but do not assume a phone call solves it.

Frequently asked

Is this the same as estate planning?

They overlap, but they are not the same. Traditional estate planning handles your money and belongings on paper. Digital estate planning handles the accounts and files. You need both, and most people have done only the first.

What happens to my email after I pass away?

It depends entirely on the provider. Google and Apple both offer ways to name a contact who can request access after a set period of inactivity. Others will only close the account. Check the setting for your main provider — it takes five minutes and makes the rest easier.

Do I need to tell anyone the master password?

No — and you should not. Emergency access works by request, not by sharing. Naming a contact gives them a path in when it is needed, without putting the password in anyone’s hands today.

What if I am the adult child doing this for a parent?

You can help without taking control. Offer to sit with them and fill in the sheets, or start your own so the conversation feels mutual. If they are not ready, leave the Master Checklist somewhere visible — many people come back to it weeks later.

Next step

Do the list first; it is the only part that unblocks everything else. Print the Password Log Sheet and fill in your email and banking accounts today, then add the rest over the next few weeks.

When the list is done, record where the vault, the recovery code, and the sheet are kept, using the free Checklist Builder. That page is what your trusted contact will actually reach for.

This is general information, not legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules, providers, and processes vary and change over time — please confirm details with the official sources we link and talk with a licensed professional about your situation.