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Back in law school, I wrote a law review article on what happens to your cryptocurrency when you die. It didn’t get published (and honestly, it wasn’t great), but the topic stuck with me. At the time, it seemed like a fringe issue; I mean, who really cared about digital accounts after death anyway? Fast forward to today, and it’s more relevant than ever. Our lives are digital now, and if you don’t plan for that, your family could be left frustrated, locked out, or still paying your Netflix bill years later.

Future planning isn’t just about dividing up your house or retirement accounts anymore. It’s also about making sure someone can find your crypto wallet, access your online bank account, cancel your subscriptions, and preserve memories stored in the cloud.

What Can Go Wrong?

Let’s look at a few hypotheticals:

• The $200-a-Month Cable Bill That Never Got Canceled
  Someone passes away with all their bills set to auto-pay. Months later, their heirs realize they’re still being charged for cable, Netflix, and three other subscription services, all because no one had access to the email or bank logins to stop the payments.

• The Locked Crypto Wallet
  A person invested in Bitcoin years ago but died unexpectedly without sharing the wallet password or recovery phrase. Tens of thousands of dollars in digital currency are now permanently out of reach for the family.

• The Forgotten Family Photos
  A surviving spouse tries to recover their partner’s iCloud account to access family photos and videos. Without the Apple ID password or a designated legacy contact, those digital memories are essentially lost.

These situations are becoming more common, but they are preventable.

How to Protect Your Digital Legacy

Want to save your loved ones from going full digital detective after you’re gone? Start with these simple steps.

1. Create a Digital Inventory
   Make a list of all your online accounts: banking, crypto, email, subscriptions, cloud storage, and anything else that lives behind a login. Include notes on how they’re accessed and what device or phone number is tied to them.

2. Store Login Info Securely
   Use a password manager or encrypted document to store your logins and recovery methods. Make sure a trusted person knows how to access it when the time comes.

3. Update Your Legal Documents
   Include specific language in your will, trust, and power of attorney documents (where applicable and appropriate) giving permission for your executor to access your digital assets.

4. Leave Cleanup Instructions
   Don’t just focus on the valuable accounts, think about the clutter, too. Should your Facebook be deleted or memorialized? What subscriptions should be canceled? Should your Dropbox or iCloud be preserved for family photos?

Even though my old law school article never made it to print, this issue has only become more important. Taking a few simple steps now can spare your loved ones stress, lost assets, and digital limbo and ensure the important parts of your online life are preserved, not forgotten.