Between your career, family calendar, and planning the next getaway, it’s easy to push estate planning to the back burner. But here’s a quick gut check: if something unexpected happened, would your spouse know how to access everything? Your logins, your investment accounts, even where key documents are stored? And flip the script—would you know where to start if the roles were reversed?

This isn’t just a conversation for later in life. In fact, most surviving spouses are still in their working years. According to U.S. Census data, the average age of widowhood in America is just 59, and more than three-quarters of widows are under 60. That’s why estate planning today needs to go beyond wills and bank accounts. It now needs to include your ever-expanding digital life: your logins, devices, and important online records that your loved ones might need to access.

What Counts as a Digital Asset?

Today, estate planning needs to consider more than your traditional bank accounts, retirement funds, and real estate. The rise of digital platforms, online accounts, and cryptocurrency has reshaped what it means to build and protect a legacy. What we think of as “assets” has expanded far beyond the physical and financial and now includes the first new asset class in decades, digital assets.

For most families, digital assets include things like:

• Financial logins: online banking, Venmo, PayPal, investment platforms
• Cloud storage and subscriptions: iCloud, Dropbox, Amazon, streaming accounts
• Personal archives: photos, videos, email, and websites
• Social media: Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn
• Cryptocurrency, NFTs, or other blockchain-based holdings
• Gaming or gambling assets

While estate professionals are becoming more attuned to digital estate planning, many people believe these accounts will handle themselves automatically. But without a plan in place, families can run into challenges accessing accounts, preserving digital memories, or protecting sensitive information.

Why Your Digital Assets Belong in Your Estate Plan

When you think about what your family may one day need access to, it’s easy to focus on the obvious: bank accounts, investment portfolios, property titles. But the truth is, much of what matters most now lives online. Without clear instructions, account providers may deny access, privacy laws can create unexpected barriers, and both financial value and sentimental treasures can be lost.

We’ve seen families lose access to years of photos and videos stored in a cloud account after their loved one passed away. The spouse assumed their marriage certificate and will would be enough to unlock the account, but strict privacy laws prevented the provider from granting access without specific digital authorization, and the family faced a lengthy and expensive legal process, only to discover some memories were unrecoverable.

We occasionally hear stories of individuals who held significant balances in Bitcoin or other virtual currencies. If wallet access or private keys aren’t documented, families may not even know the assets exist, let alone how to retrieve them. Cryptocurrency doesn’t have a customer service line or account recovery process; the assets were permanently lost. Stories like this are a sobering reminder that valuable digital wealth can vanish instantly without clear instructions.

These are the kinds of scenarios estate planning attorneys and financial advisors encounter more and more often in recent years, and it underscores why digital assets deserve a place in every modern estate plan.

How to Plan Your Digital Estate

With all of the responsibilities you deal with every day, setting up a plan for your digital estate may not seem urgent, but it’s one of the most meaningful ways to reduce stress for your family later on. Without a plan in place, your loved ones may find it difficult to navigate account access and privacy protections during an already emotional time.

Taking the time now to document your wishes frees your family from guesswork and headaches later.

Take Inventory of Your Digital Assets

Start by conducting a digital self-audit. You’ll want to create a full list of your online accounts and logins to know exactly what you have. This will include:

• Email accounts
• Financial platforms (bank accounts, investment platforms, digital wallets)
• Subscription services (Netflix, Amazon, cloud storage, etc.)
• Revenue-generating accounts (business websites, online shops)
• Social media profiles and personal websites
• Devices themselves (computers, tablets, phones)

This step is essential because it prevents assets from slipping through the cracks. Many accounts no longer send paper statements, which means that without an organized list, your heirs may not even know they exist.

Record Your Wishes Clearly

Once you’ve made a list of your digital assets, think about how you’d like each to be handled. You may want some accounts to be closed, others memorialized, and others passed along. For example, you would probably like to have family photos saved and shared, but may prefer for your Facebook account to be deleted. For financial assets, just like anything else of value, specify who should inherit them and how.

Think of this as your legacy as much as logistics. You’re deciding how your digital presence should live on. Documenting these preferences now spares your family from making emotional decisions in the midst of a difficult time.

Choose a Digital Fiduciary

Just as your traditional will has an executor, your digital estate needs someone responsible for carrying out your instructions. A digital fiduciary can be the same person, but it’s often best to choose someone comfortable with technology. Not every loved one will know how to navigate password managers, cryptocurrency wallets, or two-factor authentication. Naming a person you trust, as well as a backup, ensures your plan is practical as well as legal.

Secure Your Access Information

The most common reason families lose digital assets is a lack of access. Passwords, two-factor authentication codes, and private crypto keys can all create barriers if not recorded securely. A password manager is the easiest and most secure way to organize logins, account details, and even important documents. Just keep in mind, your loved ones will need to know how to access that password manager, too. 

For crypto and NFTs, take extra precautions: never store public and private keys in the same place, and leave clear instructions for how they can be accessed, sold, or transferred. Because blockchain is decentralized, once access is lost, recovery is impossible.

Make It Legally Binding

Finally, formalize your digital estate plan. Avoid placing sensitive logins in your will, since it becomes public record after probate. Instead, acknowledge the existence of your digital estate plan in your will and grant authority to your digital fiduciary. Store the full instructions separately in a secure digital vault, safe, or safe deposit box, and share access details with your fiduciary or attorney.

How Much Planning Do You Need?

In approaching your digital estate planning, you really have three choices. 

You can do nothing, which might be reasonable if your online presence is minimal—but even then, it’s wise to leave at least basic access details so sentimental items like family photos aren’t lost. You can create a digital will addendum, which outlines your accounts and wishes but doesn’t guarantee access; families often face costly hurdles if credentials aren’t properly shared. Or you can establish a digital asset trust, the most thorough option for anyone with significant digital or financial holdings. A trust records your instructions and provides a clear legal framework for how your assets should be managed and transferred, which offers confidence that financial and personal legacies are preserved without unnecessary complications.

Protect Your Digital Legacy

Digital estate planning isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore—it’s an essential part of protecting your financial life and easing the burden on your loved ones. With a little foresight, you can avoid common challenges like locked accounts, lost assets, or lengthy delays.

The most frequent mistakes are simple ones: forgetting certain accounts, storing information in the wrong places, or relying on outdated documents. And because technology and platform rules change often, keeping your plan up to date is just as important as setting it up.

Every digital footprint is different, which is why it helps to work with a financial advisor and estate planning attorney who understand the landscape. A thoughtful digital estate plan can give your family clarity and peace of mind, preserving both your wealth and your wishes.

Sources:

1. https://www.jillgriefcounselor.com/blog/young-and-widowed-pbxaf
2. https://www.findlaw.com/forms/resources/estate-planning/the-ultimate-guide-to-planning-your-digital-estate.html

Lake Road Advisors (LRA) is a virtual wealth management firm headquartered in Corning, NY, with offices in Ithaca, NY, and Vancouver, WA. Founded by Paul Sydlansky, CFP®, in 2016, it serves successful couples planning their next chapter—whether that’s retirement, part-time work, or a less demanding second act. Paul has worked in the financial services industry for 25+ years. Prior to founding Lake Road Advisors, he worked at Morgan Stanley in Manhattan for 13 years, where he was a senior-level manager within the Institutional Equities Department. In 2018, he was named to Investopedia’s Top 100 Financial Advisors list. Paul received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Marist College and holds an MBA from New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business. Paul is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and the XY Planning Network. They can be reached by phone at the Corning, NY office at (607) 438-2914, Ithaca, NY office at (607) 463-8400, or Vancouver, WA office at (607) 292-2172 or at the firm’s website at https://www.lakeroadadvisors.com/

This material has been prepared in collaboration with Crystal Marketing Solutions, LLC, and has been edited with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools. The information presented is based on sources believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of publication. This material is for educational purposes only and does not necessarily reflect the views of the author, presenter, or affiliated organizations. It should not be construed as investment, tax, legal, or other professional advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your specific situation before making any decisions.