Your estate plan has a digital side

If something happened to you, would your family know where to find the thousands of photos stored on your phone? Could they access important household records? Would they know what should happen to your email, social media accounts, or business website?

For most families, an estate now includes more than bank accounts, investments, and real estate. It may also include online accounts, websites, cloud storage, loyalty points and years of family photos and videos.

Some of these assets have financial value. Others hold personal meaning. All can be difficult for your family to find or manage if you have not left clear instructions.

A will remains essential, but modern wealth transition planning should also account for your digital life.

What is part of your digital life?

A digital asset is anything you own, control or store electronically. Common examples include:

• Online banking and investment accounts
• Email and social media accounts
• Cloud-based photos, videos and documents
• Business websites and domain names
• Online stores or revenue-generating accounts
• Loyalty points and travel rewards
• Digital subscriptions
• Cryptocurrency and digital wallets
• Written work, photography or other intellectual property
   

Not everything on this list can be transferred in the same way. You may own a website or the funds in an online investment account, but only have a license to access purchased music or movies. A social media account may be memorialized or deleted rather than transferred to another person.

The type of asset, the provider’s terms, and the law can all affect what happens. This is why a list of passwords alone is not a digital estate plan.

Start by showing your family what exists

The first challenge is often discovery.

Your executor cannot manage an asset if they don't know it exists. Your family may not know which company hosts your website, where your photos are stored, or that an online account contains something valuable.

Begin by creating an inventory of your most important digital assets and accounts. For each one, record:

• The name of the account or asset
• The company or platform that holds it
• Your username or account number
• What the account contains
• Whether it has financial, business or personal value
• What you would like done with it
• Where instructions for secure access can be found
   

You do not need to catalogue every shopping account or streaming service. Start with anything that has financial value, contains information your family would want, or affects the operation of your household or business.

Remember to include business assets. A domain name, website, customer database, or social media account may be important to the value and ongoing operation of a company. Losing access could disrupt the business or make a transition more difficult.

Make your family aware of the plan

Creating an inventory is helpful, but someone needs to know it exists.

Tell your executor where the inventory is stored and explain how it fits into your broader estate plan. If a spouse, adult child, or business partner will have a role, make sure they understand what you're asking them to do.

This does not mean giving everyone immediate access to your private information. It means having a clear conversation about:

• Who will manage your digital affairs
• Where your instructions are stored
• Which accounts or files matter most
• Whether certain information should remain private
• Who should receive family photos and other personal records
• Which professional advisors should be contacted
   

If you name someone as a legacy contact through an online platform, tell them. Make sure they understand the role, know what information they may receive and have any access key or instructions they will eventually need.

Without that conversation, someone may be named without realizing it or may not know where to begin when the time comes.

Use the planning tools offered by each platform

Some technology companies allow you to decide what should happen to your information.

Apple, for example, lets you name one or more Legacy Contacts. After your death, a Legacy Contact can request access to certain data, including photos, messages, notes, files and device backups. They will generally need the access key created when you appointed them and a copy of your death certificate.

It's also important to realize that there's some information that your legacy contact cannot access. This includes purchased movies, music and books, as well as passwords and payment information stored in iCloud Keychain.

Google’s Inactive Account Manager lets you choose what should happen after your account has been inactive for a set period. You can name trusted contacts, select which information may be shared and decide whether the account should eventually be deleted.

Social media platforms may offer options to appoint a legacy contact, memorialize a profile or delete an account.

These tools do not replace your will or other legal documents. They support your broader instructions and may make it easier for your family to manage your information. Because platform policies can change, review the settings for the services you use most as part of your regular estate plan review.

Keep access information secure

Your digital inventory and your passwords serve different purposes.

The inventory tells your executor what exists and what you want done. Access information may include passwords, recovery codes, device passcodes or other sensitive details.

Avoid placing active passwords directly in your will. A will may eventually become part of a court record, and passwords change frequently. Updating your will every time a login changes would also be impractical.

Instead, consider using a secure password manager, encrypted record or another method recommended by your lawyer and technology advisor. Make sure your executor knows which system you use and how access can be requested when needed.

Do not assume that giving someone your password automatically gives them the legal authority to use an account. The right approach may depend on the account, the provider’s rules and the law where you live. Your estate lawyer can help you document the appropriate authority.

Pay attention to digital assets with financial value

Online investment accounts, business assets, loyalty points and cryptocurrency should be identified as part of your financial and estate records.

For investments held through a financial institution, your executor will generally need to follow that institution’s estate process rather than simply sign in using your credentials. Your inventory should identify the institution and account, while your executor and advisory team handle access through the proper channels.

Cryptocurrency requires some additional care because access may depend on a private key or recovery phrase. If you own it, make sure your executor knows that it exists, where records can be found and who can provide qualified technical help. Secure access information should not be stored in the same place as the asset inventory.

Digital financial assets can also have tax consequences. The Canada Revenue Agency includes crypto-assets among the types of capital property that may be subject to a deemed disposition at fair market value immediately before death. Keeping reliable ownership, purchase and cost records can help your executor and accountant complete your final tax return.

Decide what you want your family to do

Do not leave every decision to your executor.

For each important digital asset, decide whether you want it to be:

1. Preserved: Keep family photos, videos, writing or other meaningful records.
2. Transferred: Pass ownership or control where the asset and provider allow it.
3. Memorialized: Maintain a social media profile as a place of remembrance.
4. Deleted: Close accounts that have no ongoing purpose or contain private information.
    

Your instructions may also need to address who receives copies of family photos, who takes control of a business website, or whether personal emails should remain private.

These decisions are about more than administration. They help preserve your intentions and prevent family members from having to guess.

Bring your planning team together

A digital estate plan should be part of your larger wealth transition plan.

Your estate lawyer can advise on the authority provided through your will and power of attorney. Your accountant can identify tax and record-keeping needs. A technology professional may help establish secure access. Your financial advisory team can help ensure that digital financial assets are reflected in the broader plan.

Most importantly, involve your family in an age-appropriate and thoughtful way. They may not need to know every password or financial detail today, but the people responsible for carrying out your plan should understand that it exists, what role they'll play and who they can contact for help.

Review your digital inventory at least once a year and whenever there is a significant change to your family, business, or finances.

Wealth transition is about more than transferring financial capital. It can also mean preserving the information, memories, and work that matter to your family.

If your estate plan does not yet account for your digital life, creating an inventory and starting a conversation with your family may be a useful place to begin. We're here to help.

Sources

1. How to add a legacy contact for your Apple Account. September 14, 2026. Apple. https://support.apple.com/en-ca/102631.  

2. About Inactive Account Manager. 2026. Google. https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546?hl=en-EN.  

3. Taxable capital gains on property, investments, and belongings. January 20, 2026. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/life-events/doing-taxes-someone-died/prepare-returns/report-income/capital-gains.html.