Be a Digital Estate Planning Hero

If, perish the thought, one of your friends or family members were to die suddenly, the survivors might turn to you for help. You know something about computers, so they might ask you for assistance in retrieving photos and vital records.

You can help those close to you minimize the potential problems. A few steps taken in advance can avoid stressful, time-consuming distractions during difficult times.

Sooner rather than later, help them prepare in advance. Assist them with these steps to ease the process.

1. List on paper their usernames (often their email address), passwords, and two-factor identification method (also known as 2FA, frequently a cell phone number to which a one-time code will be sent) for each email account, financial account, computer, membership, and social media.
2. Confirm that sensitive online personal and financial information is secured by strong passwords and 2FA.
3. For each account that has 2FA, include recovery codes and methods in the list.
4. Add to the list any unlock codes and emergency access methods for their phones and devices.
5. Put paper copies of this list in two secure places, one at home and one elsewhere, such as a safe deposit box. Consider limiting who in the family has access to the secured lists.
6. If they are savvy enough to have a password manager, list the location, username, password, and 2FA method for their password manager.
7. For accounts with Google, Apple, and Microsoft, help them set up:
   1. Google Inactive Account Management
   2. Apple Legacy Contact
   3. Microsoft Account Recovery Code
8. Ensure that they have two backups of important photos, videos, and records—at least one backup at home on an external drive or DVD discs and one backup in the cloud or on a drive in a safe deposit box or encrypted at a friend’s house.

In the process of digital estate planning, each person needs to strike a balance. They need to protect their sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands of both outsiders and insiders, and they need to ensure that the right people have access after death.

It’s hard enough to lose a relative or friend. Taking a few important precautions can simplify the necessary work for survivors who handle the winding up of a decedent’s digital life.

First published in: GPSolo eReport November 2023

Author: Wells H. Anderson, JD, GPSolo eReport Contributing Technology Editor and CEO of SecureMyFirm, 952/922-1120, www.securemyfirm.com