Most estate planning guides were written before the internet. They cover property, savings, and personal possessions — but increasingly, some of the most valuable things a person owns exist entirely online.
For some people, digital assets are a minor consideration. For others — those with cryptocurrency holdings, online businesses, investment accounts, or significant intellectual property — they can represent a substantial portion of an estate. Either way, without clear guidance in your Will and supporting documents, your executor may find themselves locked out, unable to access anything.
What Are Digital Assets?
Digital assets fall into several distinct categories, each with different legal and practical considerations.
Financial digital assets
- Cryptocurrency — Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other coins held in wallets or on exchanges
- Online investment accounts — stocks, shares ISAs, and trading platforms accessed online
- Online-only bank accounts — challenger banks such as Monzo or Starling
- PayPal and payment platform balances
- Rewards points and loyalty schemes — some can have real monetary value
Personal and sentimental digital assets
- Photo and video libraries stored in iCloud, Google Photos, or similar
- Email archives spanning decades of correspondence
- Social media profiles and their content
- Digital music, ebook, and film libraries
- Domain names and websites
Business and income-generating digital assets
- Online businesses and e-commerce stores
- Monetised YouTube channels, blogs, or podcasts
- Digital products — software, courses, templates
- Intellectual property registered or exploited online
- Affiliate and advertising revenue streams
What Happens Without Instructions?
When someone dies, their executor has the right to access their estate — but digital platforms were not designed with death in mind. Most platforms' terms of service are silent on what happens at death, or actively prohibit sharing login credentials.
Financial accounts
Online bank accounts and investment platforms are legally part of your estate and your executor can request access. However, they will need to go through formal processes — contacting customer support, providing the Grant of Probate, and waiting for verification. Without knowing the account even exists, they can't start that process.
Cryptocurrency
This is the most serious risk area. Cryptocurrency held in a self-custody wallet is secured by a private key or seed phrase. If that key is lost, the cryptocurrency is permanently inaccessible — to anyone. There is no customer service number to call. There is no password reset. Without the key, the coins are gone.
Never include your private key or seed phrase directly in your Will. Wills become public documents once probate is granted. Instead, store the key securely and leave your executor clear instructions about where to find it. A fireproof safe, a solicitor's strongroom, or a dedicated password manager with a separate master-key instruction document are all options.
Social media and email
Platforms have their own policies. Facebook allows accounts to be memorialised or deleted. Google's Inactive Account Manager lets you appoint a trusted contact. Apple's Digital Legacy programme allows you to designate heirs. None of these are automatic — you must set them up in advance.
Photo libraries
Photographs stored only in cloud services can be permanently lost if the account is closed and no one knows the login. For many families, this is the most irreplaceable loss of all.
What Your Will Can — and Cannot — Do
Your Will can name a beneficiary for your digital assets and give your executor authority to deal with them. However, your Will alone cannot solve the access problem — that requires practical preparation alongside the legal document.
Include a clause that explicitly grants your executor authority to access your digital accounts and assets. This is not automatic — many platform terms of service require express authority. Reference a separate "digital assets memorandum" (see below) for the practical detail.
There are also limits to what a Will can transfer. Many digital assets are licences rather than owned property — your Kindle library, for example, belongs to Amazon under licence. You have the right to read those books; you do not own them in the way you own a physical book. Terms of service vary enormously.
The Digital Assets Memorandum
The practical solution most estate planners recommend is a separate document — often called a digital assets memorandum or digital legacy letter — that is kept alongside your Will but is not part of it.
This document should include:
- A complete inventory of all digital accounts, assets, and services you hold
- Instructions for each — whether you want it closed, memorialised, transferred, or accessed
- Where access credentials are stored — a password manager name, a physical location, or a key-holder
- Cryptocurrency specifics — which wallets or exchanges you use, and where the access information is secured (never in the document itself)
- Platform-specific wishes — memorialise or delete social media; preserve or export photo libraries
Because this document contains sensitive information, it should be stored securely — not as an email attachment or a note on your phone. A fireproof safe, a solicitor's strongroom, or a trusted secure location known to your executor is appropriate.
Keep it updated
Digital lives change faster than physical ones. Accounts are opened and closed, services move, passwords change. Review your digital assets memorandum at least annually — and whenever you make a significant change to your online financial life. An out-of-date inventory is almost as unhelpful as no inventory at all.
Platform-Specific Steps You Can Take Now
Several major platforms have built-in tools for legacy planning. Setting these up takes minutes and provides real protection.
Google's Inactive Account Manager lets you specify what should happen to your account after a period of inactivity — you can grant a trusted contact access to your data or request that the account be deleted.
Apple
Apple's Digital Legacy feature allows you to designate up to five Legacy Contacts who can access your Apple ID data after your death. They will need both your Apple ID and the access key Apple provides.
Facebook / Instagram
Facebook allows you to set a Legacy Contact who can manage your memorialised profile. You can also request that your account be deleted upon death. Instagram can be memorialised but does not yet support legacy contacts directly.
Password managers
Services like 1Password and Bitwarden have emergency access features that allow a designated person to request access after a waiting period. This can be one of the most effective ways to give an executor access to your broader digital life without writing down individual passwords.
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