Losing a loved one is an emotional and overwhelming time for most people, and there’s an often-overlooked aspect of handling an estate that can make things more difficult: digital assets.
Spouses, siblings, family members and others who are appointed executor or administrator of a loved one’s estate are often surprised to discover that they can’t easily access bank accounts, documents, photos, social media accounts and even the phone or computer of the deceased.
Large tech companies that control these accounts are getting better at offering practical guidance and options to allow people to designate a beneficiary for their digital assets, but policies vary widely from company to company and state to state.
Attempting to log into the accounts of the deceased without proper beneficiary ownership or legal status could violate company policies and privacy and fraud laws. On a more practical level, you also risk getting you locked out of those accounts — which can make handling the estate significantly harder.
We sat down to talk with Rachel Donnelly, the Founder of Black Dress Consultants, a boutique company based in Atlanta that helps people navigate life’s transitions and handle the estates of loved ones who die.
Q: What do people misunderstand about what happens to your digital assets after you die?
A: Back before the digital revolution, the executor or administrator of the estate would just sit by the mailbox or open the safe deposit box and get the paperwork for the handful of accounts the deceased had. Nowadays, the average American has something like 200 online accounts — everything from your bank and retirement account to your doctor and dentist, social media like Instagram or Facebook, your online retail accounts like Amazon — and that’s a lot for your loved ones to keep track of.
The challenge is that a lot of people don’t think about it until after the fact. Your email and mobile number aren’t listed on your death certificate, so how can you even prove who those accounts belong to and who has the right to access them and take them over when you die? What often happens is that someone means well, and maybe the son or daughter or spouse of the deceased tries to log into their email account, and now you’ve just circumvented the process and impersonated a dead person.
If you can’t document and prove that you are legally entitled to do that, you may have just inadvertently violated privacy laws, health care privacy laws, fraud laws and the terms of service agreement or policies of the company that owns that account.
Q: How should people prepare so their digital assets are secure and easy to access when they die?
A: Make your digital assets part of your estate plan. Have a list of your most important accounts — and the logins and passwords (or how to access a password encryption or management service) — and specify which executors or family members you want to access which accounts after you die. You can write this into your will and make it part of your estate plan.
Be sure to tell your loved ones, and have it specified in your estate plan, what you want to have happen with things like your social media accounts. Some people might want their Facebook account memorialized, for example, but other people might want it deleted and shut down.
For spouses and domestic partners, avoid sharing logins on jointly owned accounts. Each person should have their own independent way to access the account. If you have a joint checking account, make sure you have joint tenants of ownership.
Most states, including Georgia, have adopted a version of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets (RUFADA) act, which gives executors a pathway to access your digital assets after you die. Some companies also have policies in place or forms you can submit to formally identify a “transfer on death” beneficiary or delegate, but many companies don’t do that yet.
Q: Which digital assets should be included in an estate plan?
A: Literally any account you have a login and password for, such as:
Phone, computers and tablet — including Apple iCloud or other digital services
The mobile phone or WiFi company like Verizon or AT&T
Bank, retirement, cryptocurrency, Venmo and Paypal, and other financial accounts
Health records and doctor and dentist patient portals
Cloud storage accounts like Google Drive, Microsoft Sharepoint, etc.
Social media accounts
Entertainment accounts such as Netflix and Hulu
Digital assets such as photos, videos and voice memos
Online retail accounts such as Amazon, Walmart and Target
Travel accounts such as airlines, hotels and rental car companies
Rewards accounts such as Ace and Kroger
Food accounts such as Uber Eats, Chick-fil-A and Chipotle
Websites, blogs or other written material that you might own
Q: What if a loved one dies and they didn’t make any provisions for their digital assets? Then what happens?
A: The executor or administrator is going to have to be patient, and do some research to figure out which accounts the deceased had, and then reach out to all those companies to prove that they have the legal right to access those accounts. It can take a lot of time and frustration, especially on critical accounts such as banking or other services you need to keep the house maintained while you administer the estate.
When a person dies, the death certificate is tied to their Social Security Number, so any major financial accounts or other accounts tied to that Social Security Number will get notified that the death occurred.
That’s not usually the case with other accounts like online retailers and social media and so forth. Sometimes my clients find accounts many months or even years later that they didn’t know existed. Billions of dollars go unclaimed each year because accounts go dark when someone dies, and nobody is there to claim it or take possession.
Q: What advice do you have for people who are thinking about creating or updating their estate plan?
People don’t realize how much this can affect their family and the grieving process. You’re going through trauma and heartbreak over the death of someone you love, and now you’re tasked with taking care of all these logistics and making decisions that you have no idea how to make, and you don’t know what the person would have wanted.
Planning ahead, thinking these things through, making your wishes known, and having your accounts and logins and passwords in order is one of the greatest gifts you can give to your loved ones. It will make administering your estate so much easier on them, so they can focus more on their emotional needs at a difficult time. Give people more space to grieve, and not have to deal with all these other administrative things.
About Black Dress Consultants
Rachel Donnelly founded Black Dress Consultants to helps people handle the estates of loved ones who die. She is also a co-founder of Professionals of After Loss Services (PALS), which offers training and support to industry professionals that work with individuals and families after the loss of a loved one.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice nor create an attorney-client relationship with Bequest Law.