Online accounts are estate planning now
Email, banking, cloud storage, subscriptions, and password managers can affect what your family can find later.
If no one knows what exists, account cleanup becomes guesswork.
Make an account inventory
Start with categories:
- email and phone recovery
- banking and subscriptions
- insurance and benefits
- cloud documents and photos
- social accounts
- password managers
- crypto and financial apps
Do not store every detail in one exposed document. Use the inventory to decide what belongs in secure storage.
Add instructions for each important account
For important accounts, document:
- what the account is for
- who should handle it
- whether it should be preserved, closed, or transferred
- where related documents are stored
- what recovery method matters
Choose trusted contacts by role
One person may be right for banking. Another may be better for family photos or technical recovery.
Digital estate planning works better when access is organized by collection and role instead of giving one person everything.
Review when your life changes
Update online account instructions when you:
- change banks
- start or close a business
- add crypto or investment accounts
- change phones or password managers
- change trusted contacts
