The average American has over 100 online accounts, according to a 2024 NordPass report. Email, social media, banking, investment platforms, cloud storage, streaming services, gaming accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, domain names, and digital subscriptions — the list grows every year. Yet fewer than 7% of people have included digital assets in their estate plan, creating a massive blind spot that leaves families locked out, confused, and potentially losing thousands of dollars.
When you die, your digital life does not simply disappear. Each platform has its own policies, and without advance planning, your family may spend months — or years — trying to gain access to accounts they did not even know existed.
Cryptocurrency: The Silent Fortune
Cryptocurrency represents one of the most urgent digital estate planning challenges. A 2024 Chainalysis report estimated that approximately 3.7 million Bitcoin — worth over $150 billion at the time — are permanently lost because the owners died or became incapacitated without sharing their private keys or recovery phrases. Unlike a bank account, there is no customer service number to call. Without the private key, the funds are gone forever.
If you hold cryptocurrency in a self-custodied wallet, your recovery phrase — the 12 or 24 words that can restore access — is the single most important piece of information in your digital estate. Store it securely, tell a trusted person where to find it, and include instructions for how to use it. If you use an exchange like Coinbase or Kraken, add a trusted contact and include the account in your digital asset inventory.
An estimated $150 billion in cryptocurrency is permanently inaccessible due to lost private keys — much of it belonging to people who died without sharing access information with their families.
Social Media: Memorialization vs. Deletion
Each major social media platform handles deceased users differently. Facebook allows you to designate a legacy contact who can manage a memorialized version of your profile, or you can request that your account be permanently deleted after death. Instagram follows the same parent company policies. Google offers an Inactive Account Manager that lets you decide what happens to your Gmail, Drive, Photos, and YouTube data after a period of inactivity. Apple has a Digital Legacy program that lets you name legacy contacts who can request access to your iCloud data after your death.
The critical step is making these decisions now, while you can. For a deeper look at platform-specific settings, see our guide on managing social media accounts after passing. If you do not configure these settings, your family will be forced to navigate bureaucratic processes — submitting death certificates, proving relationships, and waiting weeks or months — just to access or close an account. For platforms without built-in legacy tools, your family may have no legal recourse at all.
Cloud Storage and Digital Files
Decades of family photos, important documents, creative work, and personal writing may live exclusively in cloud storage — Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, OneDrive. If your family does not know these accounts exist, or cannot access them, this content is effectively lost. A 2023 survey by the Digital Beyond project found that 64% of Americans store irreplaceable family photos exclusively in the cloud, with no local backup and no shared access.
Create a list of every cloud storage account you use, what it contains, and how to access it. Consider creating a shared family folder for the most important photos and documents, so your family has access regardless of what happens to your individual account. At minimum, make sure someone knows these accounts exist and has a path to access them.
Passwords and Access Management
The practical barrier to digital estate management is almost always passwords. Our password vault family guide walks through how to set up secure shared access. A password manager — like 1Password, Bitwarden, or Dashlane — solves this problem elegantly. Store all your credentials in one encrypted vault, then create an emergency access plan that allows a designated person to request access after a waiting period. Most premium password managers support this feature natively.
If you do not use a password manager, at minimum create a secure document listing your most important accounts and credentials. Store it in a fireproof safe, a safety deposit box, or with your attorney. Update it regularly — at least annually and after any major account change.
The Legal Framework: RUFADAA
The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, adopted by 48 states as of 2025, provides a legal framework for digital asset management after death. It establishes a three-tier priority system: first, any instructions you left within the platform itself (like Google's Inactive Account Manager); second, directions in your will or trust; and third, the platform's default terms of service.
The key takeaway is that your in-platform settings override your will. So even if your will says your executor should have access to your email, if you configured Gmail to delete everything after six months of inactivity, Gmail wins. This makes it essential to configure both your legal documents and your platform settings consistently. Include digital assets as part of your broader estate planning checklist.
