How to Ensure Your Digital Accounts are Protected and Safely Accessible Before You Die

Nobody likes to dwell upon the reality of their impermanence here on the third rock from the sun, however it’s important to keep in mind — even if on the back-burner thereof — that life is, well, a momentary existence in animated form.

We’ll eventually have to bid farewell to the mortal world and our loved ones, unfortunately. We’ll have to write a living will, file a bunch of documents, and make provisions for friends and family when the hand of death ultimately falls upon us. And while, in the days of old, making provisions were considerably easier than they are today, we also need to take into consideration some of the extraneous assets we’re sure to leave behind.

Enter the present age, wherein a sizable portion of our documents and assets are stored in digital format — whether in the cloud or on our computers, phones, tablets, or otherwise. And when we take this into consideration, isn’t it only fair for our loved ones that we do everything within our animated power to ensure they don’t encounter any hassles when trying to access those assets?

Remember that highly publicized case where a widow was unable to use the apps stored on her deceased husband’s iPad because she didn’t know the password for his Apple ID? Well, so the story goes, Apple wouldn’t reset the Apple ID — even after the woman presented the company with his official death certificate.

Crazy to think, huh? Of course, over the years, there have been plenty of other instances in which family members have been locked out of digital accounts for the very same reason.

The good news, however, is that there are a few action steps you can easily employ, right now, to ensure your loved ones will never have to worry about your digital assets after you’re gone.

1. Consider including device passwords, such as the one you use to access your Apple ID, in a letter or as part of a will. Without that, well, all the data and applications and music and more might very well be rendered inaccessible for good — as was the case in the scenario above. And that saved data could include many things with huge sentimental and monetary value, too — like family photos or that novel you’ve been working on, or even apps and games and music.

To that end, you may want to consider leaving your iPhone or iPad to a family member and include your Apple ID and Password written on an index card and taped to the back of the device — lest you leave them all but an elegantly designed, aluminum alloy and glass paper weight.

And just remember: your Apple ID also holds the key to everything you’ve ever purchased on the iTunes or App Store. Let that sink in for just a minute … That includes music libraries, app purchases, movies, games, and everything else — and those digits assets, in and of themselves, could be worth a pretty penny.

2. Consider sharing passwords to other services, too — such as your Google Drive or Dropbox accounts. You may have a bunch of family photos or videos stored in there, or possibly some important notes in Evernote, maybe? Heck, if you’re the ultra-modern grandparent, you may very well have all kinds of things scattered about a plethora of online services that you want your family to maintain access to.

3. Consider setting up a password manager, such as the recently updated LastPass, which could dramatically simplify the effort it takes for your widow or kin to access those files. LastPass recently introduced an “Emergency Access” feature, too, enabling you to designate one or more of your most trusted family members to access your password vault in the event of an emergency.

It’s a great feature that works by simply entering your chosen beneficiaries’ email address, which they can then use, at any time, to request access — at which point you’ll be emailed with the notification that they’ve done so.

If you’re still around, however, and don’t want them snooping through your stash, you can always decline the request if the mandatory waiting period hasn’t expired.

4. Designate a “legacy contact” to your Facebook account, which will enable that person to access and manage it on your behalf.

There are also plenty of alternative services, like GhostMemo, for instance, which will post statuses on your behalf in the event of an extended period of inactivity — a length of time of your choosing — on your account.

Another option would be Afternote, which is similar to GhostMemo — although different in the sense that it allows you to designate one or more digital trustees.

These are just a few options for you to consider, of course. And while we all know that losing someone is by no means an easy experience, it’s important to realize that anything we can do to reduce our loved ones’ stress has to be a more sound alternative to leaving them in the lurch, right?

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