Organizing digital life for legacy, emergency access, and death preparedness. Specializes in password management, account documentation, digital asset preservation, and ensuring loved ones can access what they need.
A comprehensive guide for organizing your digital life so that in the event of death, incapacity, or emergency, your loved ones can access what they need without guessing passwords, hunting for accounts, or losing irreplaceable data.
We plan for physical death but ignore digital death. This skill helps you:
What happens when someone dies:
PHYSICAL WORLD:
- Safe deposit box → Bank knows location, key exists
- House → Deed on file, keys can be made
- Car → Title exists, spare key somewhere
DIGITAL WORLD:
- Email → Password unknown, 2FA on dead phone
- Photos → Which cloud? iCloud? Google? Both? Neither?
- Crypto → Private keys? Seed phrase? Hardware wallet location?
- Subscriptions → Which cards? Auto-renewing forever?
- Social media → How to memorialize? Who has access?
What is the user trying to accomplish?
├── FULL ESTATE PLANNING → Complete digital inventory + instructions
├── EMERGENCY ACCESS SETUP → Minimal viable access for trusted person
├── SPECIFIC ACCOUNT QUESTIONS → Single account legacy settings
├── CRYPTO/FINANCIAL ASSETS → High-security asset documentation
├── SOCIAL MEDIA LEGACY → Memorialization and content decisions
└── PHOTO/DATA PRESERVATION → Ensuring memories survive
Is there a trusted person designated?
├── NO → Help identify digital executor first
└── YES → Proceed with documentation
What is the security comfort level?
├── HIGH (tech-savvy) → Can use password manager inheritance, encrypted docs
├── MEDIUM → Password manager + written backup in secure location
├── LOW → Written documentation in secure physical location
| Account Type | Examples | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Primary email | Gmail, Outlook, iCloud | CRITICAL |
| Phone/carrier | Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile | CRITICAL |
| Password manager | 1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass | CRITICAL |
| Banking | Primary bank, credit cards | CRITICAL |
| Government | SSA, IRS, DMV accounts | HIGH |
| Insurance | Life, health, auto, home | HIGH |
| Asset Type | Documentation Needed |
|---|---|
| Bank accounts | Account numbers, online access, location of cards |
| Investment accounts | Brokerage, 401k, IRA access info |
| Cryptocurrency | Wallet addresses, seed phrases, hardware wallet location |
| PayPal/Venmo | Account access for balance recovery |
| Property deeds | Digital copies location, original locations |
| Type | Preservation Action |
|---|---|
| Photos | Identify ALL locations (phone, cloud, social), consolidate |
| Videos | Same as photos—often more scattered |
| Documents | Identify family archives, important files |
| Social media | Download archives, decide preservation wishes |
| Creative work | Writing, art, projects—where stored? |
| Service | Death Action |
|---|---|
| Subscriptions | List all, note which to cancel |
| Domains | Renewal info, transfer instructions |
| Hosting | Websites, what should happen to them |
| Cloud storage | Paid plans that need canceling or transferring |
Good candidates:
Consider:
Create a "Digital Executor Letter" containing:
# Digital Executor Instructions for [Name]
## If I Die or Become Incapacitated
### Immediate Access
1. My password manager is: [1Password/Bitwarden/etc]
- Master password location: [safe deposit box/with attorney/sealed envelope location]
- Emergency access feature: [if applicable, how to trigger it]
2. My phone passcode: [stored with master password OR specific location]
3. My primary email: [address]
- Access through password manager
- This email is recovery email for most other accounts
### Critical First Steps
1. Access email and phone to receive 2FA codes
2. Notify these accounts of death: [list priority accounts]
3. Download/preserve: [list what matters]
4. Cancel: [list subscriptions to stop]
### Specific Account Instructions
[Bank Name]: Contact branch at [location], reference account #[number]
[Crypto]: Hardware wallet in [location], seed phrase in [separate location]
[Social Media]: Please memorialize / delete / [specific instructions]
### What I Want Preserved
- Photos in [Google Photos/iCloud/etc] - please download and keep
- Writing in [location] - please share with [person]
- [Specific items with specific instructions]
### What Can Be Deleted
- Browser history (please don't look, just delete)
- [Other items you don't care about preserving]
Crypto is the highest-risk digital asset for inheritance. Private keys = ownership.
CRYPTO ESTATE DOCUMENTATION
───────────────────────────
Exchange Accounts: [Coinbase, Kraken, etc]
- Login credentials in password manager
- 2FA backup codes stored with master password
Hardware Wallets: [Ledger, Trezor]
- Physical location: [where]
- PIN: [stored with seed phrase OR separate location]
Seed Phrases: [CRITICAL - this is the money]
- Location: [safe deposit box, fireproof safe, split storage]
- NEVER store digitally unless encrypted
- Consider: stamped metal backup (fireproof)
Software Wallets: [MetaMask, etc]
- Seed phrase location: [same security as hardware]
Instructions:
- How to access: [step by step for non-crypto person]
- What to do: [hold, sell, transfer to specific wallet]
- Who can help: [crypto-savvy friend/advisor name and contact]
Options for seed phrase storage:
Photos are often the most emotionally important digital assets:
Digital estates change. Review annually:
❌ Storing master password digitally unencrypted ❌ Telling no one about the plan ❌ Assuming family can "figure it out" ❌ Putting seed phrases in cloud storage ❌ Not testing the access methods ❌ Forgetting about old accounts
Digital estate planning isn't morbid—it's a gift to those who love you. When they're grieving, they won't have to guess passwords, hunt for accounts, or lose precious photos. You've made the hardest time a little bit easier.
That's love in practical form.