When you think about your estate plan, you probably think first about the things that are most visible: your home, investment accounts, insurance policies, business interests, and the documents that outline your wishes.
But there is another part of your financial life that can be just as important and much easier to overlook: your digital life.
Today, many aspects of our personal and financial lives exist online. From financial accounts and digital assets to family photographs, important documents, subscriptions, and online businesses, your digital footprint may represent both meaningful value and important pieces of your personal legacy.
For those entrusted with carrying out your wishes, the challenge may not simply be accessing these accounts. It may be knowing what exists in the first place.
Your Digital Life Is Part of Your Financial Journey
It can be helpful to look beyond traditional assets and consider the digital accounts and information that may need attention if you are no longer able to manage them yourself.
Depending on your circumstances, that might include:
- Financial and payment accounts — online banking, payment platforms, digital investment accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, and exchanges
- Cloud-based information — Apple iCloud, Google Drive, Google Photos, Dropbox, and other storage services
- Personal and family records — digital photographs, videos, correspondence, and important documents
- Subscriptions and memberships — streaming services, software, news, fitness, and other recurring services
- Social media and email — accounts that may need to be preserved, transferred, or closed
- Digital businesses and intellectual property — websites, domain names, online businesses, and other digital interests
- Password management — the system you use to securely organize and provide appropriate access
The list can be surprisingly long. And because these accounts are often established one at a time over many years, it is easy to lose track of what you have accumulated.
Create a Roadmap, Not Just a Password List
Consider creating a roadmap that helps the people you trust understand your digital landscape.
Items to document:
- What accounts and digital assets exist?
- Where can important information be found?
- Who should have access?
- Which accounts have financial value?
- Which accounts contain information or memories worth preserving?
- Which accounts should be closed, transferred, or maintained?
How you securely document this information will depend on your circumstances. A password manager, encrypted digital vault, or another secure system may be appropriate. Your estate planning attorney can help you determine how digital information should coordinate with your broader estate plan.
Estate planning is about more than transferring assets. It is about creating clarity around your wishes and helping the people you trust carry them forward.
Your digital life is part of that picture.
As part of Your Path Forward, consider making a digital inventory part of your regular financial planning process. And just as you revisit your broader financial plan, remember to review your digital roadmap periodically as accounts, subscriptions, and digital assets change.
Our team is here to help you bring the many pieces of your financial journey together, including the ones that exist beyond the traditional balance sheet.
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