Digital Assets Inheritance Planner

A digital asset is anything of value that exists online or in digital form. The scope is wider than most people expect: email and social accounts, cloud storage (photos, documents), bank and investment apps, cryptocurrency wallets and seed phrases, domain names, websites, streaming subscriptions, loyalty points and airline miles, gaming accounts with purchased items, and any content you've created or monetized online. If it has value — financial, sentimental, or practical — and it's digital, your family will need to manage it.

Everything stays on your device with no exceptions. This tool runs entirely in your browser using local storage only. Your checklist progress is saved to your own browser, not any server. Nothing is transmitted, collected, or stored anywhere outside your device. You can verify this by opening your browser developer tools and watching the Network tab — you'll see zero outgoing data calls while using this tool. This isn't just a privacy promise: the code makes it technically impossible to send your data anywhere.

Not to get started — but legal guidance matters for certain assets. For most digital accounts (email, social media, subscriptions, cloud storage), clear documentation and designated access are more practical than legal documents. However, for high-value items like cryptocurrency, investment accounts, domain names with significant value, or income-generating websites and channels, you should consult an estate attorney to include these properly in your will or trust. Use this tool to organize and document everything first — then decide what needs legal formalization.

Treat it exactly like a physical will or insurance document — store it securely and tell your executor or a trusted person where to find it. Good options include: a fireproof home safe, a safety deposit box, or a password-protected encrypted folder in cloud storage (with access instructions stored separately). Do not email it or leave it unencrypted in regular cloud storage. Update it at least once a year, or after any significant changes to your accounts.
Important: never include actual passwords in the PDF — note where passwords are stored, not what they are.

This tool helps you identify and track what needs to be prepared — it generates a PDF letter your family can reference. The e-book "Your Digital Assets Inheritance Plan" goes deeper in two directions: it gives you the complete step-by-step process for actually setting each item up (the how, not just the what), and it gives your family a plain-English guide for what to do after you're gone — including who to contact, in what order, and how to handle the parts most families get wrong. Think of the tool as the checklist; the e-book as the complete instruction manual.

At minimum, once a year — set a recurring reminder for the same date each year. Beyond that, update it whenever you open significant new accounts or close old ones; acquire cryptocurrency or high-value digital assets; change your primary email or password manager; experience major life changes (marriage, divorce, new beneficiaries); or any listed service changes its policy on heir access. A 20-minute annual review is far easier than leaving a confusing, incomplete picture for your family to sort through under stress.

Google offers an Inactive Account Manager — you can pre-authorize a specific person to receive your data or delete your account after a set period of inactivity. Apple has a Legacy Contact feature (iOS 15.2+) where you designate someone who can access your account data with a digital access key after your death. Facebook/Instagram allows a Legacy Contact to manage your memorialized profile, or you can request pre-emptive account deletion. Without these set up in advance, families typically need to provide a death certificate and go through a formal legal process — which can take months and still may not grant full access to account contents.