Digital Assets in Your Will: What Executors Need to Know
I’m writing this on my last morning in Penang, Malaysia, before I head to the airport to fly home to England later today. As I’ve been preparing to leave—backing up photos from my trip, checking my online banking, updating my cloud storage—I’ve been struck by just how much of our lives now exists purely in digital form. It’s made me think about a question that many people overlook when writing their Wills: what happens to all of this when we die?
Over the past fortnight, I’ve written about estate planning document accessibility and the importance of Lasting Powers of Attorney. This week, as I pack my bags and prepare to leave Malaysia, I want to address something that’s become increasingly critical in modern estate planning: digital assets in Wills and how to make sure your executors can actually access them.
Most people spend considerable time deciding who should inherit their house, their savings, and their personal possessions. But how many people have thought about their digital photo libraries, their online accounts, their cryptocurrency holdings, or even their social media profiles? These digital assets have real value—both financial and sentimental—yet they’re often completely overlooked in estate planning.
What Are Digital Assets?
When we talk about digital assets, we’re referring to anything you own or control that exists in electronic form. This is a much broader category than most people realise, and it’s growing every year as more of our lives move online.
Digital assets include your email accounts and the messages stored in them. Social media profiles on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn all fall into this category. Your photo and video libraries stored in the cloud or on devices represent another significant type. Online banking and investment accounts, even though they represent traditional financial assets, are accessed and managed digitally.
The Range of Digital Property
Cryptocurrency holdings such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other digital currencies are digital assets. Your online shopping accounts with stored payment methods and order histories count as well. Subscription services for streaming, music, software, and other digital content all form part of your digital estate. Even your frequent flyer miles and loyalty programme points are digital assets with real value.
If you work online, you might have domain names, websites, blogs, or online businesses. Digital documents stored in cloud services, ebooks, audiobooks, and digital music collections all have value. Gaming accounts with purchased content or in-game items can be worth significant amounts. Even your smartphone itself, with all its data and accounts, is a digital asset that needs consideration.
Why Digital Assets Create Problems for Executors
When someone dies, their executor’s job is to identify all assets, secure them, and distribute them according to the Will. For physical assets and traditional bank accounts, this process is well-established. For digital assets, it’s far more complicated.
The first challenge is simply knowing what exists. Unlike a house or a bank account with regular statements, digital assets often leave no paper trail. Your executor might not even know you have a cryptocurrency wallet, a second email account, or valuable digital photos stored in the cloud. If you don’t tell them these assets exist, they may never be found.
The Access Challenge
Even when executors know digital assets exist, accessing them presents enormous difficulties. Most online services require a username and password. Without these credentials, your executor cannot access your accounts. Retrieving your photos, closing your social media profiles, or accessing your online banking to see what funds might be there becomes impossible.
The legal framework adds another layer of complexity. The Computer Misuse Act 1990 makes unauthorised access to computer systems a criminal offence. This means that even your spouse or children could potentially commit a crime by accessing your accounts without proper authorisation, even after your death. Your executor needs clear legal authority to access your digital assets.
Terms of Service Complications
Terms of service create further problems. Most online platforms have terms that govern what happens to accounts when someone dies. Some services will delete accounts. Others will memoralise them but not grant access to anyone else. Many require specific documentation before they’ll provide any information at all. Each platform has different rules, and your executor must navigate all of them.
The situation becomes even more complex with accounts that have ongoing financial implications. Subscription services continue charging monthly fees until someone cancels them. Domain names need renewing or they’ll be lost. Online businesses need managing or shutting down. Without access to your accounts, your executor cannot handle any of these matters, and your estate loses money whilst they struggle to sort things out.
The Current Law in England and Wales
Under the law of England and Wales, your executor has authority over your estate, but digital assets create unique challenges within this framework. Your Will appoints your executor and grants them authority to deal with your property. However, whether digital assets count as “property” in the traditional sense isn’t always clear.
Some digital assets, like cryptocurrency or digital photos you’ve created, are clearly your property. Other digital assets, like your social media accounts or email, might be considered services you’ve licensed rather than property you own. This distinction matters because executors have clear authority over your property but potentially less authority over services you were using.
Contractual Considerations
The terms of service you agreed to when setting up online accounts also play a role. These are contracts between you and the service provider. When you die, what happens to these contracts depends on their specific terms. Your executor cannot simply override terms of service, even with their legal authority as executor.
This creates a legal grey area. Your executor has general authority over your estate under your Will and the law of England and Wales. However, they also need to comply with the Computer Misuse Act, respect terms of service, and navigate data protection regulations. Making this easier for them requires planning ahead.
Digital Assets Have Real Value
People sometimes dismiss digital assets as unimportant compared to houses, savings, and physical possessions. This is a mistake. Digital assets can have substantial financial value, and they almost always have significant emotional value to your family.
The Financial Side
Consider the financial side first. Cryptocurrency holdings can be worth thousands or even tens of thousands of pounds. Online businesses generate income that continues after your death. Domain names can have considerable value. Digital photo libraries that you’ve licensed for commercial use might generate ongoing royalties. Even seemingly trivial things like loyalty programme points can be worth hundreds of pounds.
If your executor cannot access these assets because they don’t know about them or lack the necessary passwords, their financial value is lost to your estate. The money that should go to your beneficiaries simply disappears because nobody can access it.
The Emotional Value
The emotional value often matters even more to families. Your digital photo library probably contains irreplaceable images of family events, holidays, and everyday moments. These photos might be the only copies that exist. If your executor cannot access your cloud storage account, these memories are lost forever.
Email accounts often contain important correspondence, family history, and messages from people who have since died. Social media profiles preserve years of interactions, thoughts, and connections. For your family, especially after a bereavement, access to these digital memories can be profoundly important.
Creating a Digital Asset Inventory
The single most important step you can take is creating a comprehensive inventory of your digital assets. This doesn’t need to be complicated—a simple document listing what you have and where to find it makes an enormous difference to your executors.
Start by listing all your online accounts. Include email accounts, social media profiles, online banking and investment platforms, and shopping accounts. Note any subscription services you pay for, cloud storage services you use, and cryptocurrency exchanges or wallets you have. If you have an online business, list the platforms and services it uses. Include any domain names you own and where they’re registered.
What to Include in Your Inventory
For each account, note the platform or service name, your username or email address used for login, and where you’ve stored the password. You don’t need to write passwords directly in the inventory itself—we’ll address secure password storage separately. But your executors need to know the account exists and where to find the access credentials.
Include information about what should happen to each account. Do you want your social media profiles deleted or memorialised? Should your photo libraries be downloaded and given to specific family members? Are there subscription services that should be cancelled immediately? Providing this guidance makes your executor’s job much easier and ensures your wishes are followed.
Don’t Forget Physical Devices
Don’t forget about devices themselves. Your smartphone, tablet, computer, and any other devices all contain data and accounts. List these devices and note whether they’re password-protected or encrypted. Include information about how to access them if needed.
Update this inventory regularly—at least annually, or whenever you set up a new significant online account. Digital life changes rapidly, and an outdated inventory can be almost as problematic as no inventory at all.
The Password Problem
Creating a digital asset inventory is straightforward. Providing your executors with a secure way to access your passwords is more complex. You need to balance security whilst you’re alive with accessibility for your executors after your death.
Many people use password managers like LastPass, 1Password, or Bitwarden. These services store all your passwords securely behind one master password. This approach works well during your lifetime—you only need to remember one password instead of dozens. For estate planning purposes, it also means your executors only need access to your password manager to reach all your accounts.
Emergency Access Features
The challenge is giving your executors access to your password manager without compromising security whilst you’re alive. Some password managers offer emergency access features specifically designed for this situation. You can designate an emergency contact who can request access. After a waiting period you specify (typically a few days), they receive access automatically unless you deny the request. This means that if you die or become incapacitated, your designated contact eventually gains access. But if someone tries to access your passwords whilst you’re alive, you can block them.
Another approach involves leaving your master password with your Will or in a sealed envelope in a secure location. Your executor can access it when needed but cannot use it whilst you’re alive without your knowledge. Some people deposit their master password with their solicitor or Will storage service alongside their Will.
Communicating Your System
Whatever method you choose, make sure your executors know about it. There’s no point having a secure password storage system if your executors don’t know it exists or how to access it. Your digital asset inventory should include clear instructions about where and how to find your password information.
Never email your passwords or store them in unsecured documents on your computer. These methods create security risks whilst you’re alive and might not be accessible to your executors after your death anyway.
What to Include in Your Will
Your Will itself should address digital assets, even though it doesn’t need to list every account individually. Including specific provisions about digital assets in Wills gives your executors clear authority to deal with them under the law of England and Wales.
A well-drafted Will should include a clause that explicitly gives your executors authority to access and manage your digital assets. This can be as simple as stating that your executors have authority to access, manage, and distribute your digital assets, including all online accounts, digital files, and electronic records. This explicit authority helps overcome potential objections from service providers who might otherwise refuse to grant access.
Pointing to Your Inventory
Your Will could mention that you’ve created a separate digital asset inventory and state where your executors can find it. This might be stored with your Will, kept at home in a specific location, or held by someone you trust. The Will itself shouldn’t list all your accounts—that information would quickly become outdated—but it should point your executors to where they can find current information.
Consider whether you want to give your executors discretion about what happens to certain digital assets. For example, you might specify that your executors should use their judgment about whether to preserve or delete certain online accounts and digital files, particularly personal communications. This protects your privacy whilst giving your executors flexibility to make appropriate decisions.
Valuable Digital Assets
If you have particularly valuable digital assets, such as cryptocurrency holdings or an online business, you might want to mention these specifically in your Will and state who should inherit them. This is particularly important for cryptocurrency, where the technical knowledge needed to manage it safely might influence who you choose to receive it.
Cryptocurrency Deserves Special Attention
Cryptocurrency requires extra consideration in estate planning because of how it works technically. Unlike a bank account where the bank holds your money and can grant access to your executor, cryptocurrency operates differently. If you hold cryptocurrency, you typically control it through private keys—essentially very long passwords that prove ownership.
If you die without ensuring your executors can access your private keys, your cryptocurrency is lost forever. There’s no bank to contact, no customer service to call, and no way to recover access. The funds exist on the blockchain, but nobody can access them without the private keys. This isn’t theoretical—billions of pounds worth of cryptocurrency has been lost permanently because people died without providing access to their private keys.
Documenting Your Cryptocurrency
Your digital asset inventory must include information about any cryptocurrency you hold. Note which cryptocurrencies you own, which exchanges or wallets you use, and how to access them. If you use a hardware wallet (a physical device for storing cryptocurrency), your executors need to know where this device is kept and how to access it.
The security requirements for cryptocurrency are stringent, which makes estate planning even more important. You cannot simply write down your private keys where your executors can easily find them—that would create an enormous security risk. But you also cannot make access so difficult that your executors cannot retrieve your cryptocurrency after your death.
Seed Phrases and Recovery
Many cryptocurrency holders use a “seed phrase”—a list of words that can restore access to a wallet. This seed phrase needs storing securely but accessibly to your executors. Some people split the phrase into parts and store them in different secure locations. Others use specialised services designed for cryptocurrency estate planning. Whatever method you choose, your Will and digital asset inventory must provide enough information for your executors to piece it together.
Social Media and Personal Accounts
Social media accounts create unique considerations because they’re deeply personal but also potentially valuable. Your Facebook profile might contain a decade of memories and interactions. Your Instagram account might showcase your photography. Your LinkedIn profile represents your professional identity. What should happen to these after you die?
Different platforms have different policies. Facebook allows you to designate a “legacy contact” who can manage your memorialised account after you die. They cannot log in as you or see your private messages, but they can update your profile picture and cover photo, write a pinned post, and respond to new friend requests. Alternatively, you can request that Facebook delete your account after your death.
Platform-Specific Policies
Instagram accounts can be memorialised or deleted. Twitter accounts can be deactivated by family members with appropriate documentation. LinkedIn allows profiles to be removed. Each platform has its own process, usually requiring a death certificate and proof that the person requesting action has authority to do so.
Your digital asset inventory should state your wishes for each social media account. Do you want them memorialised, deleted, or downloaded and then deleted? Your executors will follow your instructions, but only if you’ve made your wishes clear. Without guidance, they must guess what you would have wanted, and different family members might disagree.
Email Account Considerations
Email accounts warrant similar consideration. Your emails might contain important information your executors need—such as financial records, insurance details, or correspondence about assets. They might also contain deeply personal communications you wouldn’t want anyone to read. You can specify in your digital asset inventory which email accounts should be accessed for practical purposes and which should simply be closed.
Subscription Services and Ongoing Costs
Subscription services create a practical problem for executors: they keep charging your account until someone cancels them. Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, software subscriptions, gym memberships, and dozens of other services might all be drawing money from your account monthly. If your executor cannot access your accounts to identify and cancel these subscriptions, your estate bleeds money unnecessarily.
A comprehensive digital asset inventory should list all subscription services you pay for. This helps your executors identify what needs cancelling quickly. Every month that subscriptions continue after your death is money wasted that should go to your beneficiaries.
Annual Subscriptions
Some subscriptions are annual rather than monthly, and these can be particularly costly if not cancelled promptly. Domain name registrations, professional memberships, and software licences often renew annually. Your executor needs to know about these to prevent unnecessary renewal charges.
If you run an online business, the subscription issue becomes even more important. Your business probably relies on multiple services—web hosting, email marketing platforms, payment processors, accounting software, and more. Your executor needs to access these accounts to decide whether to continue the business, sell it, or wind it down in an orderly manner. Without access, the business might simply collapse, losing significant value.
Cloud Storage and Digital Files
Many people now store important documents, photos, and files in cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, or OneDrive. These services are convenient during life but create challenges after death. Your family needs access to retrieve important documents and irreplaceable photos, but cloud services don’t automatically grant access to your executor.
Your digital asset inventory should include all cloud storage services you use. Note what’s stored in each location. For example, you might keep all your family photos in Google Photos, your important documents in Dropbox, and your work files in OneDrive. Knowing where everything is located helps your executors retrieve what matters most.
Time-Sensitive Access
Some cloud services delete accounts after a period of inactivity. Others require ongoing payment to maintain storage. Your executor needs to access these accounts quickly after your death to download important files before they’re lost. This is particularly crucial for the only copies of digital photos or documents.
Consider downloading particularly important files and storing them on a physical external hard drive as well as in the cloud. This provides a backup that your executors can access even if they struggle to gain access to your cloud accounts. Store this hard drive somewhere your executors know about and can find easily.
Terms of Service and Legal Considerations
Every online service has terms of service that govern how accounts can be used and what happens when someone dies. These terms are legally binding contracts under the law of England and Wales, and your executor must work within them, even though they might find them frustrating.
Some terms of service explicitly prohibit sharing passwords or allowing anyone else to access your account, even your executor. This creates a legal conflict—your executor has authority under your Will and the law of England and Wales to manage your estate, but the terms of service might forbid the very access they need. Service providers can and do refuse access to executors who cannot demonstrate proper authority.
Why Clear Will Provisions Matter
This is why including explicit provisions about digital assets in your Will is so important. A clearly drafted Will that gives your executors authority to access and manage your digital assets provides the legal foundation they need when dealing with service providers. Most companies will cooperate with executors who can demonstrate they have legal authority.
Your executor will typically need to provide your death certificate, proof of their appointment as executor (usually a grant of probate), and specific information about the account they’re trying to access. Different services have different requirements and processes. Some are helpful and straightforward; others make the process difficult and time-consuming.
Making It Easier
By creating a clear digital asset inventory and including appropriate provisions in your Will, you make your executor’s job as easy as possible. You cannot eliminate all difficulties—service providers’ processes are outside your control—but you can ensure your executor has the information and legal authority they need.
Practical Steps You Can Take Now
After reading this article, you might feel overwhelmed by the complexity of digital asset planning. Don’t be. Whilst the landscape is complex, the practical steps you need to take are straightforward. You don’t need to solve everything at once—start with the basics and build from there.
Step One: Create Your Inventory
Begin by creating your digital asset inventory. Set aside an hour or two to list all your online accounts, digital files, and electronic assets. Use a simple document or spreadsheet. Include account names, usernames, and notes about what should happen to each account. This document is for your executors, so clarity matters more than perfection.
Step Two: Organise Your Passwords
Next, organise your passwords. If you’re not already using a password manager, consider setting one up. Alternatively, create a secure master list of your passwords and store it somewhere safe where your executors can find it. Include clear instructions in your digital asset inventory about where and how to access your password information.
Step Three: Review Your Will
After that, review your Will. Does it include provisions about digital assets? Does it give your executors explicit authority to access and manage your online accounts and electronic records? If your Will is old or doesn’t address digital assets, consider updating it. A modern Will should always include digital asset provisions.
Step Four: Talk to Your Executors
Then have the conversation with your executors. They need to know that you’ve created a digital asset inventory, where to find it, and how to access your password information. This conversation might feel awkward, but it’s essential. Your executors cannot help you if they don’t know what you’ve set up.
Step Five: Use Available Features
Following that, set up legacy contacts or emergency access features where available. Facebook allows legacy contacts. Many password managers have emergency access features. Apple’s Digital Legacy programme lets you designate legacy contacts who can access your iCloud account after your death. Use these features—they make your executor’s job much easier.
Step Six: Annual Review
Finally, review and update your digital asset inventory annually. Your digital life changes constantly. New accounts are created, old ones are forgotten, and passwords are updated. An annual review ensures your inventory stays current and useful.
Why Professional Will Drafting Matters
Digital assets are complex, and the law around them continues to develop. Whilst you can certainly create a digital asset inventory yourself—and should—having your Will professionally drafted ensures that your executor has proper legal authority to act.
A professionally drafted Will includes carefully worded provisions that give your executors the broadest possible authority to deal with digital assets whilst remaining within the law of England and Wales. It anticipates potential complications and addresses them preemptively. It uses language that service providers are likely to accept and that provides clear legal authority.
Staying Current
Professional Will writers like ourselves stay current with developments in digital asset planning. We understand the practical challenges executors face and draft Wills that address them. We can advise on how to structure your digital asset inventory, where to store it, and how to ensure your executors can access it when needed.
We can also help coordinate your digital asset planning with your broader estate plan. Your digital assets don’t exist in isolation—they’re part of your overall estate. Making sure everything works together coherently requires expertise and experience.
How A.D.E Wills Can Help
At A.D.E Wills, we help people across England and Wales create comprehensive Wills that address modern realities, including digital assets in Wills. We understand that estate planning has become more complex as our lives have moved online, and we’re experienced in drafting Wills that give executors the authority they need.
We can review your existing Will to see whether it adequately addresses digital assets. If it doesn’t, we can update it with appropriate provisions. We’ll discuss your digital assets with you and help you think through what should happen to them. We can advise on creating an effective digital asset inventory and storing it securely.
If you’re creating a new Will, we’ll ensure it includes comprehensive provisions about digital assets from the start. We’ll explain the issues, help you make informed decisions, and draft a Will that gives your executors clear authority whilst protecting your wishes.
You can reach us by calling 01865 507174 or emailing info@adewills.co.uk. We offer straightforward, professional advice tailored to your individual circumstances. Taking the time to address digital assets in your Will now will save your executors enormous difficulty and ensure your digital legacy is handled according to your wishes.
For more information about estate planning, explore our resources on Wills, document organisation, and Lasting Powers of Attorney.
Next week, I’ll be writing the final article in this series about how life changes should prompt you to review your Will. Many people create a Will and then never look at it again, even as their circumstances change dramatically. I’ll explore when and why you should update your Will to keep it relevant to your current life.
Disclaimer
This article provides general information about digital assets and estate planning under the law of England and Wales. You should not consider this as personalised legal or financial advice. A.D.E Wills are professional Will writers and estate planners, not solicitors or financial advisers. We recommend that clients seek appropriate professional advice for complex legal matters or financial planning questions, including cryptocurrency holdings and digital business assets. Individual circumstances vary. You should make estate planning decisions based on your specific situation with appropriate professional guidance.
