digital-estate-planner

We plan for physical death but ignore digital death. This skill helps you:

• Document accounts and access methods systematically
• Designate what should happen to digital assets
• Preserve important data and memories
• Create clear instructions for digital executors
• Do this in a way that maintains security while enabling access

```

What happens when someone dies:

PHYSICAL WORLD:

• Safe deposit box → Bank knows location, key exists
• House → Deed on file, keys can be made
• Car → Title exists, spare key somewhere

DIGITAL WORLD:

• Email → Password unknown, 2FA on dead phone
• Photos → Which cloud? iCloud? Google? Both? Neither?
• Crypto → Private keys? Seed phrase? Hardware wallet location?
• Subscriptions → Which cards? Auto-renewing forever?
• Social media → How to memorialize? Who has access?

```

```

What is the user trying to accomplish?

├── FULL ESTATE PLANNING → Complete digital inventory + instructions

├── EMERGENCY ACCESS SETUP → Minimal viable access for trusted person

├── SPECIFIC ACCOUNT QUESTIONS → Single account legacy settings

├── CRYPTO/FINANCIAL ASSETS → High-security asset documentation

├── SOCIAL MEDIA LEGACY → Memorialization and content decisions

└── PHOTO/DATA PRESERVATION → Ensuring memories survive

Is there a trusted person designated?

├── NO → Help identify digital executor first

└── YES → Proceed with documentation

What is the security comfort level?

├── HIGH (tech-savvy) → Can use password manager inheritance, encrypted docs

├── MEDIUM → Password manager + written backup in secure location

├── LOW → Written documentation in secure physical location

```

Tier 1: Critical Access (Must have for estate management)

| Account Type | Examples | Priority |

|-------------|----------|----------|

| Primary email | Gmail, Outlook, iCloud | CRITICAL |

| Phone/carrier | Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile | CRITICAL |

| Password manager | 1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass | CRITICAL |

| Banking | Primary bank, credit cards | CRITICAL |

| Government | SSA, IRS, DMV accounts | HIGH |

| Insurance | Life, health, auto, home | HIGH |

Tier 2: Financial Assets

| Asset Type | Documentation Needed |

|------------|---------------------|

| Bank accounts | Account numbers, online access, location of cards |

| Investment accounts | Brokerage, 401k, IRA access info |

| Cryptocurrency | Wallet addresses, seed phrases, hardware wallet location |

| PayPal/Venmo | Account access for balance recovery |

| Property deeds | Digital copies location, original locations |

Tier 3: Digital Memories

| Type | Preservation Action |

|------|-------------------|

| Photos | Identify ALL locations (phone, cloud, social), consolidate |

| Videos | Same as photos—often more scattered |

| Documents | Identify family archives, important files |

| Social media | Download archives, decide preservation wishes |

| Creative work | Writing, art, projects—where stored? |

Tier 4: Ongoing Services

| Service | Death Action |

|---------|--------------|

| Subscriptions | List all, note which to cancel |

| Domains | Renewal info, transfer instructions |

| Hosting | Websites, what should happen to them |

| Cloud storage | Paid plans that need canceling or transferring |

Who Should This Be?

Good candidates:

• Tech-comfortable (can navigate password managers, 2FA)
• Trustworthy (obvious, but critical)
• Likely to outlive you
• Emotionally capable of handling your digital life

Consider:

• Same person as physical executor? (Often yes, but not required)
• Backup digital executor?
• Specific person for specific assets? (Crypto expert for crypto)

What They Need

Create a "Digital Executor Letter" containing:

```markdown

# Digital Executor Instructions for [Name]

Immediate Access

1. My password manager is: [1Password/Bitwarden/etc]

- Master password location: [safe deposit box/with attorney/sealed envelope location]

- Emergency access feature: [if applicable, how to trigger it]

1. My phone passcode: [stored with master password OR specific location]

1. My primary email: [address]

- Access through password manager

- This email is recovery email for most other accounts

Critical First Steps

1. Access email and phone to receive 2FA codes
2. Notify these accounts of death: [list priority accounts]
3. Download/preserve: [list what matters]
4. Cancel: [list subscriptions to stop]

Specific Account Instructions

[Bank Name]: Contact branch at [location], reference account #[number]

[Crypto]: Hardware wallet in [location], seed phrase in [separate location]

[Social Media]: Please memorialize / delete / [specific instructions]

What I Want Preserved

• Photos in [Google Photos/iCloud/etc] - please download and keep
• Writing in [location] - please share with [person]
• [Specific items with specific instructions]

What Can Be Deleted

• Browser history (please don't look, just delete)
• [Other items you don't care about preserving]

```

1Password

• Emergency Kit: PDF with account info, Secret Key, printed password
• Family/Team sharing: Add trusted person to vault
• Tip: Store Emergency Kit with attorney or in safe deposit box

Bitwarden

• Emergency Access: Trusted contact can request access, waiting period you set
• Organizations: Shared vaults for family
• Export: Can create encrypted backup

LastPass

• Emergency Access: Similar to Bitwarden—trusted contact, waiting period
• Family plan: Shared folders

Apple Keychain

• Legacy Contact: iOS 15.2+, designate someone who can request access
• Recovery Key: Store securely if used

Google

• Inactive Account Manager: Designate contacts, set inactivity period
• Data download: Contacts get access to specified data after inactivity

Crypto is the highest-risk digital asset for inheritance. Private keys = ownership.

Documentation Required

```

CRYPTO ESTATE DOCUMENTATION

───────────────────────────

Exchange Accounts: [Coinbase, Kraken, etc]

• Login credentials in password manager
• 2FA backup codes stored with master password

Hardware Wallets: [Ledger, Trezor]

• Physical location: [where]
• PIN: [stored with seed phrase OR separate location]

Seed Phrases: [CRITICAL - this is the money]

• Location: [safe deposit box, fireproof safe, split storage]
• NEVER store digitally unless encrypted
• Consider: stamped metal backup (fireproof)

Software Wallets: [MetaMask, etc]

• Seed phrase location: [same security as hardware]

Instructions:

• How to access: [step by step for non-crypto person]
• What to do: [hold, sell, transfer to specific wallet]
• Who can help: [crypto-savvy friend/advisor name and contact]

```

Seed Phrase Security

Options for seed phrase storage:

1. Safe deposit box - Bank access, but bank can access too
2. Home fireproof safe - You control, fire risk lower
3. Split storage - Half with attorney, half in safe (requires both)
4. Metal backup - Stamped steel survives fire/flood
5. Shamir's Secret Sharing - Technical but very secure

Facebook

• Legacy Contact: Designate someone to manage memorialized account
• Options: Memorialize (frozen tribute) or Delete after death
• Location: Settings > Memorialization Settings

Instagram

• Memorialization: Request form available, requires proof of death
• Removal: Can request account removal with proof

Twitter/X

• Deactivation: Family can request with death certificate
• No memorialization: Account either stays or goes

LinkedIn

• Memorialization: Family can request, becomes memorial page
• Removal: Also available upon request

Google/YouTube

• Inactive Account Manager: Best option, proactive setup
• Posthumous: Family can request access/deletion with documentation

Photos are often the most emotionally important digital assets:

Consolidation Checklist

• [ ] iPhone photos → where backed up? (iCloud, Google, both?)
• [ ] Android photos → Google Photos? Local?
• [ ] Old phones → transferred or sitting in drawer?
• [ ] Camera SD cards → backed up?
• [ ] Facebook/Instagram → downloaded?
• [ ] Cloud services → which ones have photos?
• [ ] External drives → where located?
• [ ] Computer folders → documented?

Preservation Actions

1. Consolidate to one primary location
2. Backup to secondary location (3-2-1 rule: 3 copies, 2 media types, 1 offsite)
3. Document where everything is
4. Share access with trusted person now
5. Label important folders ("Wedding 2019", "Kids Baby Photos")

Digital estates change. Review annually:

• [ ] New accounts added? Document them.
• [ ] Passwords changed? Password manager updated?
• [ ] New devices? Access documented?
• [ ] Trusted contacts still appropriate?
• [ ] Cryptocurrency holdings changed?
• [ ] New subscriptions to add to cancel list?
• [ ] Digital executor still appropriate and informed?

❌ Storing master password digitally unencrypted

❌ Telling no one about the plan

❌ Assuming family can "figure it out"

❌ Putting seed phrases in cloud storage

❌ Not testing the access methods

❌ Forgetting about old accounts

• grief-companion: Emotional support alongside practical planning
• pet-memorial-creator: Digital memorials for pets
• career-biographer: Preserving professional legacy
• panic-room-finder: Finding secure physical storage locations

Digital estate planning isn't morbid—it's a gift to those who love you. When they're grieving, they won't have to guess passwords, hunt for accounts, or lose precious photos. You've made the hardest time a little bit easier.

That's love in practical form.