I heard a number of stories of people passing away, and their loved ones have to figure out how to navigate their digital “estate”. Things like email credentials, bank accounts, crypto wallets, logins for personal devices, etc. For example, I have a good friend whose husband passed away unexpectedly, and she couldn’t get Apple to unlock his laptop for months, until she provided a death certificate and jumped through additional hoops.

I fell down a rabbit hole of checklists, methods, and technology, and was curious what other people were doing to leave digital assets behind. I’m looking for something that will be privacy-oriented, but still provide access to people who may not be very tech-savvy.

What do other people do? Especially from a technology perspective?

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[–] 2 points 4 days ago (1 child)

There's nothing in my email/computer/bank account that anyone else needs access to. When I go it all goes with me.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 days ago

    When I go it all goes with me.

    Not true at all, they're not gonna bury you with it. Your bank accounts do go through a process after you depart. In many states if you die without a will or any other instructions they go through a long processes to identify your next of kin, and if they can't identify it then the State takes it all.

    You are much better off making a small will and leaving some simple instructions. If you have no relatives you trust with the money, leave it to a charity, like your local animal shelter if that's your thing.

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