Published: August 27, 2026

 

Protecting Your Digital Assets in Estate Planning

Estate planning often focuses on tangible property and traditional financial assets, including real estate, investment accounts, retirement savings and personal belongings. Today, however, much of our financial and personal lives also exists digitally.

Online accounts may hold significant monetary value, important information or irreplaceable memories. Without a plan, family members or an executor may have difficulty locating, accessing or properly managing these assets if you become incapacitated or pass away.

Protecting your digital assets should therefore be considered an important part of a comprehensive estate plan.

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Begin with a digital asset inventory

Start by creating an inventory of your digital assets and accounts. A comprehensive list can help ensure that nothing important is overlooked while giving a trusted individual a roadmap for locating what may need attention.

Your inventory might include:

• Bank, brokerage and retirement accounts
• Cryptocurrency and digital wallets
• Email accounts and cloud storage
• Digital photo and video libraries
• Social media profiles
• Websites, blogs and domain names
• Airline miles, hotel rewards and credit card points
• Subscription services and digital media libraries
• Online payment accounts
• Smart-home accounts and connected devices
• Computers, smartphones and tablets

Your inventory does not need to include every password. Its purpose is to identify what exists, where it can be found and whether each account has financial, practical or sentimental importance.

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Create a secure plan for access

After identifying your digital assets, consider how an authorized individual could access the necessary information. Avoid placing passwords directly in your will. A will may eventually become part of the public record, and passwords can change long before an estate plan is updated. An unsecured spreadsheet or handwritten list can also create unnecessary security risks.

Instead, consider using a reputable password manager or another secure storage method. Some password managers offer emergency-access features that allow a designated person to request access under specific circumstances. Whichever method you choose, make sure someone you trust knows that it exists, where to find it and what steps may be required to gain authorized access. You should also keep the information current as accounts and passwords change.

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Review each platform’s legacy options

Many online platforms offer tools that allow users to provide instructions for their accounts. Depending on the service, you may be able to:

• Designate a legacy or trusted contact
• Share selected information after a period of inactivity
• Request that an account be memorialized
• Arrange for an account or its contents to be deleted

For example, Apple allows users to designate a Legacy Contact, while Google’s Inactive Account Manager can share selected account data or notify a chosen person after a specified period of inactivity. The permissions and limitations differ by provider, so review the settings and terms for each important account. Apple’s Legacy Contact and Google’s Inactive Account Manager illustrate how these tools can work.

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Decide what should happen to each asset

Access is only one part of digital estate planning. Your trusted representatives should also understand what you want done with important accounts and files.

Consider whether each asset should be:

• Preserved or transferred
• Downloaded and shared with family members
• Memorialized
• Archived
• Closed or deleted
• Managed as part of a business or income-producing property

A digital photo library, cryptocurrency wallet and social media profile may each require a very different set of instructions. Recording those wishes can reduce uncertainty and make it easier for loved ones to carry them out.

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Coordinate with your estate-planning documents

Providing someone with a list of accounts or passwords does not necessarily give that person the legal authority to access or manage them. Access may be affected by state law, the language in your estate-planning documents and the individual platform’s terms of service.

The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act provides a legal framework for fiduciary access to digital assets, but the applicable rules and documents should be reviewed with an attorney familiar with the laws in your state. The Uniform Law Commission explains the act and its purpose here.

Discuss your digital assets with your estate-planning attorney. Your will, trust and powers of attorney may need language that expressly authorizes the appropriate people to access, manage or dispose of digital property if you become incapacitated or pass away.

Your financial advisor and attorney can work together to help ensure that your digital assets are addressed as part of your broader financial and estate plan.

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Make digital planning an ongoing habit

A digital asset plan should not be a one-time exercise. New accounts are created, passwords change, services close and your wishes may evolve.

Review your inventory and instructions periodically, as well as after significant life events such as a marriage, divorce, death in the family or major change in your financial situation.

As financial and personal lives become increasingly digital, protecting these assets is an essential part of planning for the future. A few proactive steps today can help preserve financial value, protect cherished memories and make the administration process more manageable for the people you leave behind.

 

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Ready for a Deeper Dive?

Digital assets are only one component of a comprehensive estate plan. Visit our [Estate Planning Resources] to learn more about organizing your financial life, communicating your wishes and preparing the people who may one day carry them out.

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Hall Financial Advisors is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA / SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. #1153402

Sources:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/102631
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546
https://www.uniformlaws.org/acts/catalog/current/F?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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