The Executor's Guide to Digital Accounts: What to Do and Where to Start

Being named executor used to mean handling paper. Wills, deeds, life insurance, bank statements. Today most of that still applies, but a second layer has been added: the dozens of digital accounts the person you are settling owned, used, paid for, or stored important information inside.

It is a lot. It is also more manageable than it looks if you handle it in the right order.

Start with the master accounts

Most digital lives hang from one or two master accounts. Usually it is a primary email. Less often, it is the operating system account (Apple, Microsoft, or Google). Once you have access to the primary email, almost every other account is recoverable, because that is where password resets go.

If the person left behind credentials, use them. If not, every major email provider has a process for legal representatives. It is slower than logging in directly, but it works. Have the death certificate, your appointment documents from probate, and ID ready before you start.

The four buckets of accounts

Most digital accounts fall into one of four groups, and each one has a different right answer:

•       Financial: banks, brokerages, retirement, payment apps. Handle these first. Notify, freeze recurring transactions, and route as the will or trust directs.

•       Operational: utilities, insurance, subscriptions, household services. Cancel or transfer. Save the confirmation emails.

•       Personal: photos, documents, cloud storage, password managers. Download and back up before closing.

•       Social: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, the rest. Each platform has its own memorialization or closure process. Save anything sentimental first.

Work from financial outward. The financial layer is where late fees, surprise charges, and probate complications come from. The personal layer is where the meaningful items live, and those can wait a few days.

What to do before you cancel anything

Three quick steps save a lot of grief later:

1.     Take a screenshot of each account's main page before you close it. Statement balance, account number, customer service contact.

2.     Forward any auto-pay notifications to a single folder so you can keep track of recurring charges.

3.     Save anything sentimental (photos, message threads, voicemails) before closing the platform that holds it.

Cancellation is the easy part. Recovery, once you have closed an account, can be very hard.

When to slow down

If you encounter an account you do not recognize, slow down. Do not close it. Note it and ask family. Old subscriptions, dormant brokerage accounts, and small online businesses sometimes hide value. The point of moving fast on the predictable accounts is to give yourself time to be careful with the unpredictable ones.

How a digital legacy plan makes this easier

If the person you are settling left behind a digital legacy plan, the first ninety minutes of your work are dramatically easier. A one-page "start here" note that points you toward the primary email, the bill-paying account, the password manager, and the document folder removes most of the guessing. That is the gift a planner leaves an executor.

If you are reading this for yourself, that is the plan to leave behind. One page. Plain language. A clear starting point. Your executor will thank you.

Call to action: 

If you are setting up your own plan, write your executor a one-page "start here" note inside the One Final Message platform. It will save them a hard week.