Planning for digital legacy

In short: A digital legacy includes all online accounts, data, and digital contracts of a deceased person. Without clear arrangements, relatives often struggle to get access to important accounts.

In more detail: Heirs legally inherit digital contracts and accounts, but in practice access often fails due to passwords and platform rules.

In detail

• Password list: An up-to-date, securely stored list of important login details significantly eases access for relatives.
• Digital power of attorney: An explicit authorisation for digital accounts can be integrated into a general power of attorney.
• Platform rules: Many services, such as social networks, offer their own processes for handling deceased users’ accounts.
• Memorial state: Some platforms offer a “memorial mode” where the profile is preserved but no longer actively usable.
• Ongoing contracts: Subscriptions and automatic payments should be identified and cancelled to avoid unnecessary costs.
• Cloud data: Photos, documents, and emails in cloud services often require separate release processes from providers.
• Digital executor: Some people explicitly designate a trusted person to manage their digital legacy (testament-und-gesetzliche-erbfolge, patientenverfuegung-und-vorsorgevollmacht).