What happens to your online life after you’re gone?
One of the most overlooked parts of end-of-life planning is what happens to our online lives after we pass away. I’ve seen families struggle with locked phones, inaccessible photo libraries, social media accounts that keep posting birthday reminders, and subscription services that continue charging monthly fees long after someone has died. Without proper planning, these accounts can cause unforeseen issues.
The effort required to plan your digital legacy is minimal compared to the complications your family might face without it.
What constitutes a digital legacy
When I mention ‘digital assets’ to families, many initially think only of social media. But our digital footprints extend far beyond Facebook and Instagram. Your digital legacy encompasses email accounts containing important correspondence, online banking and investment platforms, cloud storage holding years of family photos, subscription services, cryptocurrency holdings, online businesses or marketplaces, and even digital intellectual property.
Each of these accounts has value—sometimes financial, often sentimental, occasionally both. Without clear instructions about access and management, families face significant challenges settling estates or preserving precious memories.
The complications of digital access
I worked with a family recently whose father had been an amateur photographer. He’d stored thousands of family photos spanning decades in his Google account. After he died, the family couldn’t access the account—they didn’t have his password, and Google’s privacy policies meant they needed proof of death and had to go through a lengthy verification process. It took four months to gain access, during which time the family experienced the additional worry over potentially losing those memories.
Without planning, what should be straightforward becomes frustratingly complicated.
Platforms like Google, Facebook, and banking institutions take privacy seriously—which is generally positive—but it means that even with death certificates, executors often face significant barriers. Some platforms require court orders. Others have specific legacy procedures that must be followed precisely.
Creating a digital inventory
The most helpful step you can take is creating a comprehensive digital inventory. List every online account you have—usernames, email addresses associated with each account, and details about where password information is stored.
People often resist this task because it feels overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be completed in one sitting.
Start with accounts you use daily: email, banking, social media. Then add subscription services that charge your credit card. Include cloud storage platforms. If you have cryptocurrency or online investment accounts, these are particularly important to document given their financial value.
The key is making this information accessible to your executor without compromising security while you’re alive. Password managers provide an elegant solution—they encrypt all your login details whilst allowing you to share access with a trusted person. Services like LastPass or 1Password include emergency access features specifically designed for this purpose.
Appointing a digital executor
In my experience, managing digital assets requires different skills from managing physical estates. You might appoint someone tech-savvy as your digital executor—either the same person as your general executor or someone separate who has better digital literacy. This person needs to understand how to navigate different platforms and execute your wishes regarding each account.
I’ve seen situations where executors struggled because the deceased never communicated their wishes. Should social media accounts be deleted or memorialised? Should email accounts be preserved or closed? What should happen to cloud-stored creative work? Without clear instructions, executors must guess.
Using platform-specific legacy tools
More platforms now offer legacy planning features, though many people aren’t aware they exist. Facebook allows you to assign a legacy contact who can manage your memorialised account. Google’s Inactive Account Manager lets you designate trusted contacts who can access or delete your account after a specified period of inactivity. Instagram requires proof of death to memorialise accounts.
Taking advantage of these tools whilst you’re alive really simplifies the process for your loved ones. It takes perhaps 20 minutes but provides clarity and control over how your digital presence is managed.
The legal landscape in New Zealand
In my work, I’ve noticed an increasing awareness that digital assets should be addressed in wills. Whilst you can include instructions about digital assets in your will, privacy laws mean executors may still need court orders to access certain accounts.
Make sure you work with a solicitor who understands digital estate planning, and this helps ensure your will includes appropriate language.
Some digital assets—particularly cryptocurrency or online businesses with financial value—need specific attention in estate planning and require explicit documentation.
Planning is essential
Failing to plan for digital legacy creates three primary problems: families lose access to sentimentally valuable content like photos and messages; financial assets, including cryptocurrency or automated payments, get overlooked; and identity theft becomes possible if accounts remain unmanaged.
The effort required to plan your digital legacy is minimal compared to the complications your family might face without it. Creating an inventory, appointing a digital executor, and leaving clear instructions provides them with a roadmap through the digital aspects of grief—one less overwhelming task during an already difficult time.
Sam - representing the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand (FDANZ).