Your estate plan should reflect the full picture of your life, including the digital accounts and assets you’ve accumulated over time.
From email and cloud storage to online banking, investment platforms, photo libraries, and cryptocurrency, these digital elements hold both personal and financial value.
If they aren’t addressed in your estate plan, your loved ones could face serious obstacles when trying to access or manage them. Including your digital footprint in your planning ensures that nothing important is overlooked.
Digital Assets Are Legally Protected
Digital assets include any content or records stored electronically. That could mean something with direct financial value, like a cryptocurrency wallet or PayPal account, or something deeply personal, like cloud-based photo storage or a private blog.
Under the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), which has been adopted in Nebraska and many other states, fiduciaries such as executors, trustees, or agents under a power of attorney must be granted explicit legal authority to access digital assets.
Even then, service providers may restrict access unless the right protocols have been followed.
This means that without the correct planning documents, your fiduciary could be locked out of important accounts, and they can even break the law by attempting to access them.
Take Stock of Your Digital Presence
Start by creating a list of your digital assets. Organize them into categories to make them easier to track:
- Communication: Email accounts, messaging apps, cloud storage platforms
- Financial: Online banking, credit card accounts, investment portals, payment processors
- Media: Subscriptions for music, video, or books, plus digital purchases stored in cloud libraries
- Cryptocurrency and NFTs: Wallets, exchanges, and private keys
- Business Assets: Websites, domain names, e-commerce storefronts, content libraries
- Social and Sentimental: Social media profiles, online photo albums, genealogy accounts
Record the name of each account and a description of its purpose. Avoid writing down passwords in this inventory. Instead, indicate where your credentials are stored or how they can be accessed if needed.
Passwords Are a Planning Roadblock
Most digital accounts are protected by passwords, often with two-factor authentication. Even if your fiduciary knows the account exists, gaining lawful access may be impossible without prior authorization and documentation.
You can use a password manager to store your credentials securely. Some password managers offer legacy access features that allow a trusted individual to take over in the event of your death or incapacity.
But a password manager alone is not enough. You still need to authorize access through proper legal documents.
Keep in mind that listing credentials in your will is not recommended. Your will becomes part of the public record after death, which means any sensitive information it contains could be exposed.
Appoint a Digital Fiduciary
While your executor may be responsible for your estate, you can name a separate person to serve as your digital fiduciary. This person’s role is to manage, retrieve, or close digital accounts in accordance with your wishes and the law.
Choosing someone who is both trustworthy and technically competent is important. A digital fiduciary may need to navigate unfamiliar platforms, manage two-step authentication, or work with support teams from large tech companies.
If you don’t name anyone, your executor may face unnecessary delays and barriers.
Clarify Access in Your Legal Documents
You should explicitly grant your digital fiduciary authority to access digital assets. This can be done through a will, trust, power of attorney, or separate digital asset authorization form. Depending on your estate plan, more than one document may be appropriate.
For example:
- Your will may name a digital fiduciary and state your intent to allow access to digital assets.
- A revocable trust can hold digital property like monetized content or domain names, especially if they have significant value.
- A power of attorney can authorize a trusted agent to manage digital accounts during your lifetime, especially if you become incapacitated.
Be specific about your intentions. If you want certain accounts closed, preserved, or passed on to a beneficiary, spell that out clearly.
Plan Ahead for Social Media Accounts
Many social media platforms have legacy tools to help users plan for what happens after they die. But unless you set these tools up in advance, your loved ones may have limited options.
Some examples include:
- Facebook: Lets you name a legacy contact and choose to memorialize or delete your account.
- Google: Offers an Inactive Account Manager that can notify trusted contacts and transfer certain data.
- Instagram: Offers account memorialization but does not allow deletion without proper documentation.
- LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter): Require formal requests to remove or deactivate an account.
It’s a good idea to leave platform-specific instructions along with your estate planning documents. These accounts often hold photos, messages, and memories that are meaningful to the people you leave behind.
Special Considerations for Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency and NFTs require additional planning. These assets are not held by traditional institutions and may not be recoverable without private keys or seed phrases. If those credentials are lost, the asset is lost permanently.
If you hold crypto, identify:
- The wallets and exchanges you use
- Where your keys or recovery phrases are stored
- How someone can access them legally
You may want to include these details in a separate document referenced in your trust or will, but not attached directly. Discuss options with your attorney to balance security and accessibility.
Store Your Instructions Securely
Once your plan is in place, store your documentation and digital inventory securely. Options include:
- A fireproof home safe
- A locked file cabinet in your attorney’s office
- An encrypted digital storage service
- A cloud-based vault with restricted access
Let your fiduciary know where the materials are stored and how to access them when the time comes. Make sure they also have copies of your estate planning documents that authorize digital access.
Keep Everything Current
Your digital estate is not static. Accounts change, new services are added, passwords are updated, and policies shift. Build a habit of reviewing your digital inventory when you revisit your estate plan or after a major life event.
If you change your password manager, close accounts, or move assets between platforms, those updates should be reflected in your digital planning documents. An outdated inventory can create just as many problems as no inventory at all.
View Our On-Demand Webinar!
We have recorded an on-demand webinar that you can view to gain a more thorough understanding of this important process. There is no charge, and you can visit this page to gain access: Omaha, NE estate planning webinar.
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