What Happens to Your Online Accounts When You Die?
Harm Dhillon
Online accounts rule almost every aspect of our lives in today’s digital world; they often dictate our access to both our personal and professional lives. Our emails alone are the gatekeepers of our banking information, subscription services, and often serve as the username for other online accounts. Our social media accounts can become online scrapbooks that hold great sentimental value or act as an integral part of our business models. However, once you have passed away, it would be impossible for your Executor know what all of your online accounts are, what purpose each one is for, and what important information is sent to those accounts. What can you do now to help your Executor in the future?
It is essential to make a list of all your obligations and make it clear which accounts they would be attached to upon your death. Every utility bill, credit card, and subscription should be accounted for and updated in an exhaustive list in order for your Executor to fulfill their duties under the aforementioned Act. If this step is overlooked, your executor may face significant challenges such as being unable to close your accounts or stop automatic payments, potentially leading to unnecessary complications and delays.
Many companies and banks limit account sharing in order to ensure user privacy; they often require Court Orders before granting outside access to an individual’s account. Two major internet companies have adapted to address this emerging consideration: Facebook and Google.
Facebook has included a “Legacy Contact” and this person can look after your main profile if it’s memorialized after you have passed away. This contact cannot log into your account or access your messages, but they have the ability to download a copy of what you’ve shared on your Facebook Account and write a pinned post for your profile.
Google gives users the ability to set up an “Inactive Account Manager” as a way for users to share parts of their account data or notify someone if they’ve been inactive for a certain period of time. You can select up to 10 people to receive data and choose to share all or only specific data types with different people. Google allows you to set the amount of time that should pass before this feature is triggered as per the plan you set up at your Inactive Account Manager Page.
However, these companies are still only providing limited powers that may not capture all the actions you wish for your Executor to take. In order to ensure access and ease, you may wish to leave your own details and instructions for each of your accounts that go over and above what is offered in the standard options.
A trusted Wills and Estate Planning Lawyer can offer essential guidance and direction, helping protect your testamentary wishes. At Vogel LLP, we focus on the unique circumstances of each client’s situation and their assets, in order to offer customized and practical estate planning advice. We invite you to contact us today to discuss your personal estate planning concerns.