Estate Planning today needs to include a plan for your digital footprint–the never-ending trail of online accounts, files, photos and information you leave behind. If you are anything like me, your digital footprint is disorganized at best and probably includes hundreds—even thousands—of cherished family photos…somewhere on “the cloud.” Needless to say, estate planning in the digital age has become messy, and you will want to ensure someone is appointed to oversee your digital afterlife.
Here are a few “to-dos” to get you started:
1. Make a Digital Inventory.
List all your digital accounts, login information, and what you want done with them. Include emails, social media, cloud storage and, yes, even your Costco account. Consider using a password manager app (such as 1Password or Dashlane), which stores and organizes all the passwords associated with your accounts. With this type of app, you need only remember one “master” password to securely keep all the passwords for all of your digital accounts.
2. Communicate Your Digital Preferences and Inventory to Your Executor, Trustee and Agent Under Power of Attorney.
While some individuals have started to appoint a “Digital Executor” (i.e., a tech-savvy person who will be in charge of your digital footprint), this person will likely coincide with the individual you have appointed in your estate plan to handle all of your other financial decision making in the event of incapacity, and distribution of your non-digital assets after your passing. Make sure this person has (or knows how to access) information regarding your digital inventory and passwords.
Most states, including New York, have laws that grant a decedent’s executor, under a Last Will and Testament, or agent under a Power of Attorney the right to access and manage digital assets. It is important that your Will, Power of Attorney and Revocable Trusts (if transferring digital assets to a trust) specifically reference the right to manage and access your digital assets and digital devices. That being said, having the authority to gain access and the ability to gain access are very different. Certain digital platforms have very strict guidelines for granting access to a third party. So organizing your digital assets and providing your loved ones with the information they need to gain access is very important. You also should review the Terms of Service Agreements of your digital providers to see if any third-party authorization can be noted in your account(s). As such, you should leave specific instructions in your estate planning documents or in a separate letter for your executor, trustee and/or agent under a Power of Attorney as to where they can find your passwords, what you would like done with your digital asset accounts and social media accounts and, most importantly, who is to receive your digital assets upon your passing.
3. Plan for Your Social Media Accounts.
Social Media accounts are unique in the sense that they continue to have a public presence long after an individual’s death. Facebook, in particular, has a feature where you can decide during your life what you wish to happen to your Facebook page upon your passing. Do you want your account memorialized (so people can post tributes and remember you) or deleted? Your Facebook account can be converted to a Facebook Legacy Page by going to Facebook’s “Settings” page. Here, you can toggle to “Memorialization Settings” to name a Legacy Contact who will be able to manage your memorial page or alert Facebook you have passed away, so your page can be deleted.
Unfortunately, it does not appear that Instagram or any other social media platform currently allows you to appoint someone ahead of time, but it does appear that a related individual can request to memorialize or delete an account based on a form and death certificate.
4. Don’t Forget About Your Photos!
In my opinion, your digitally kept photographs are the most important items that can be lost upon one’s passing. I have boxes and boxes of old photographs from generations of my family members and I worry that because a majority of my photos (and my children’s memories) are digital, there is a greater likelihood of them becoming lost or inaccessible after my passing. It is important that family members continue to preserve these photos digitally, just as we have the physical photos, slide decks and USB sticks of the past. The best way to preserve your memories are to back them up to the Cloud; organize and label folders by year or event; and share access to your account with your loved ones through Google Photo or shared albums through your iPhone. And, perhaps, print a few and throw them in a physical photo album for good measure!
Digital assets are now a part of everyday life. Planning for them should be given just as much thought and time as planning for your real property, brokerage accounts and retirement assets. So, remember to plan for your digital afterlife. The internet never forgets…unless you tell it to!
Lauren C. Enea, Esq. is a Senior Associate at Enea, Scanlan & Sirignano, LLP. She concentrates her practice on Wills, Trusts and Estates, Medicaid Planning, Special Needs Planning and Probate/Estate Administration. She believes that it is never too early or too late to start planning for your future and she enjoys working with individuals to ensure that their plan best suits their needs. Ms. Enea received a B.S. in Business Management from Quinnipiac University graduating Magna Cum Laude and a J.D. from the Pace University School of Law graduating Summa Cum Laude. She is admitted to practice law in New York and Florida. She can be contacted at 914-948-1500 or www.esslawfirm.com
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24 Aug 2025
0 Commentsestate planning for digital assets
Estate Planning today needs to include a plan for your digital footprint–the never-ending trail of online accounts, files, photos and information you leave behind. If you are anything like me, your digital footprint is disorganized at best and probably includes hundreds—even thousands—of cherished family photos…somewhere on “the cloud.” Needless to say, estate planning in the digital age has become messy, and you will want to ensure someone is appointed to oversee your digital afterlife.
Here are a few “to-dos” to get you started:
1. Make a Digital Inventory.
List all your digital accounts, login information, and what you want done with them. Include emails, social media, cloud storage and, yes, even your Costco account. Consider using a password manager app (such as 1Password or Dashlane), which stores and organizes all the passwords associated with your accounts. With this type of app, you need only remember one “master” password to securely keep all the passwords for all of your digital accounts.
2. Communicate Your Digital Preferences and Inventory to Your Executor, Trustee and Agent Under Power of Attorney.
While some individuals have started to appoint a “Digital Executor” (i.e., a tech-savvy person who will be in charge of your digital footprint), this person will likely coincide with the individual you have appointed in your estate plan to handle all of your other financial decision making in the event of incapacity, and distribution of your non-digital assets after your passing. Make sure this person has (or knows how to access) information regarding your digital inventory and passwords.
Most states, including New York, have laws that grant a decedent’s executor, under a Last Will and Testament, or agent under a Power of Attorney the right to access and manage digital assets. It is important that your Will, Power of Attorney and Revocable Trusts (if transferring digital assets to a trust) specifically reference the right to manage and access your digital assets and digital devices. That being said, having the authority to gain access and the ability to gain access are very different. Certain digital platforms have very strict guidelines for granting access to a third party. So organizing your digital assets and providing your loved ones with the information they need to gain access is very important. You also should review the Terms of Service Agreements of your digital providers to see if any third-party authorization can be noted in your account(s). As such, you should leave specific instructions in your estate planning documents or in a separate letter for your executor, trustee and/or agent under a Power of Attorney as to where they can find your passwords, what you would like done with your digital asset accounts and social media accounts and, most importantly, who is to receive your digital assets upon your passing.
3. Plan for Your Social Media Accounts.
Social Media accounts are unique in the sense that they continue to have a public presence long after an individual’s death. Facebook, in particular, has a feature where you can decide during your life what you wish to happen to your Facebook page upon your passing. Do you want your account memorialized (so people can post tributes and remember you) or deleted? Your Facebook account can be converted to a Facebook Legacy Page by going to Facebook’s “Settings” page. Here, you can toggle to “Memorialization Settings” to name a Legacy Contact who will be able to manage your memorial page or alert Facebook you have passed away, so your page can be deleted.
Unfortunately, it does not appear that Instagram or any other social media platform currently allows you to appoint someone ahead of time, but it does appear that a related individual can request to memorialize or delete an account based on a form and death certificate.
4. Don’t Forget About Your Photos!
In my opinion, your digitally kept photographs are the most important items that can be lost upon one’s passing. I have boxes and boxes of old photographs from generations of my family members and I worry that because a majority of my photos (and my children’s memories) are digital, there is a greater likelihood of them becoming lost or inaccessible after my passing. It is important that family members continue to preserve these photos digitally, just as we have the physical photos, slide decks and USB sticks of the past. The best way to preserve your memories are to back them up to the Cloud; organize and label folders by year or event; and share access to your account with your loved ones through Google Photo or shared albums through your iPhone. And, perhaps, print a few and throw them in a physical photo album for good measure!
Digital assets are now a part of everyday life. Planning for them should be given just as much thought and time as planning for your real property, brokerage accounts and retirement assets. So, remember to plan for your digital afterlife. The internet never forgets…unless you tell it to!