The average person has over 100 online accounts. Most people, when asked to list them, get to about 15 before they start guessing. The rest live in browser saved passwords, forgotten inboxes, and years-old registrations that still have their credit card on file.
When you die, your family inherits this digital maze. They do not know what accounts exist. They do not know which ones have money. They do not know which ones are charging monthly. And they do not know which ones hold decades of irreplaceable family photos.
This checklist covers 50 things to organize. You do not need to do them all today. But printing this list and checking off even ten items puts you ahead of 95 percent of people.
The Master Key (Do This First)
1. Password manager
Which one do you use? Where is the master password stored? Is emergency access set up for someone you trust? If you do not use one, this is the single most impactful thing you can do. (Here is how to set up emergency access.)
2. Primary email
This is the key to everything. Most online accounts use email for password recovery. If your family can access your primary email, they can reset passwords on almost anything. Document which email is your main one and how to get in.
3. Phone PIN or passcode
Your phone is the second key. Two-factor authentication codes, authenticator apps, banking apps — they all live on your phone. If your family cannot unlock it, they may be locked out of everything. Write down the PIN somewhere safe.
4. Two-factor authentication
Do you use an authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Authy? If so, is it backed up? Are recovery codes saved somewhere? Without these, even having the password is not enough to log in to many services.
5. Digital executor
Who is the tech-savvy person you trust to handle all of this? Have you told them? (Learn more about choosing a digital executor.)
Financial Accounts (Money at Stake)
6. Online banking portals
Every bank you access online. Login credentials, which app is on your phone, whether two-factor authentication is required.
7. Investment and brokerage accounts
Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, Robinhood, E*Trade — wherever your investments live. Remember to check beneficiary designations, because they override your will.
8. Retirement account portals
Your 401(k), IRA, pension portals. Include former employers — many people have forgotten retirement accounts from old jobs.
9. Cryptocurrency on exchanges
Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, Gemini. Email, password, two-factor method, and approximate balances. (Read our full crypto estate planning guide.)
10. Self-custody crypto wallets
Ledger, Trezor, MetaMask, Trust Wallet. Where the device is physically stored, the PIN, and critically — where the seed phrase is written down.
11. Digital wallets
PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Zelle, Wise, Revolut, Apple Pay. Any account where money might be sitting.
12. Online business accounts
Etsy, Shopify, Amazon Seller, Stripe, Gumroad. If you sell anything online, those accounts have money, customers, and inventory.
13. Freelance platforms
Upwork, Fiverr, Toptal. Active contracts, pending payments, client relationships.
14. Domain names
GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare. Domains can be valuable and they auto-renew — charges keep coming.
15. Loyalty programs
Airline miles, hotel points, credit card rewards. Some have cash value. Most have rules about transferability at death that are worth checking.
Subscriptions (Money Draining)
16. Video streaming
Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV+, YouTube Premium, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, Paramount+.
17. Music and audio
Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Audible.
18. Software subscriptions
Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, Canva, Zoom, Notion, Figma, ChatGPT Plus.
19. Cloud storage
iCloud+, Google One, Dropbox Plus, OneDrive. Warning: if you cancel these before downloading the contents, files may be permanently deleted.
20. News and media
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Athletic, Substack newsletters, Medium.
21. Health and fitness
Gym membership, Peloton, Headspace, Calm, Strava, fitness tracking apps.
22. Food and delivery
DoorDash DashPass, Uber One, HelloFresh, Instacart+, meal kit services.
23. Security software
VPN, antivirus, identity protection services. Note: cancel your password manager last — you need it to access everything else.
24. Professional memberships
LinkedIn Premium, industry associations, union dues, continuing education.
25. Auto-renewing services
Internet, phone, cable, insurance premiums — anything that auto-charges to a card or bank account.
(Create a complete shutdown checklist with our Digital Shutdown tool.)
Digital Memories (Irreplaceable)
26. Cloud photo libraries
Google Photos, iCloud Photos, Amazon Photos, Flickr. Where do your phone photos automatically back up?
27. Social media accounts
Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok. Years of posts, photos, and memories. Have you set up Legacy Contact on Facebook? Inactive Account Manager on Google?
28. Old phones
That old iPhone in the drawer. The Samsung from three years ago. They may have photos that were never backed up anywhere.
29. External hard drives
The black box on your office shelf labeled "Family Photos 2015-2020." Or the unlabeled one in the junk drawer.
30. USB flash drives
Small, easy to lose, often contain the only copy of something important.
31. SD cards
From cameras, drones, GoPros. Often forgotten in bags and tech drawers. (Map all your digital memories with our Digital Memory tool.)
32. Email archives
Your email going back 10 or 20 years contains personal correspondence that might be meaningful to your family.
33. Messaging history
WhatsApp family group chats, Telegram conversations, iMessage threads. Voice messages from loved ones — often the most emotionally precious digital content.
34. Digital journals and blogs
Day One, Notion, WordPress, Medium — anything you have written that your family might want to read.
35. Home videos
Digital files from old camcorders, phone videos, VHS tapes that have or have not been digitized.
Online Presence (Identity)
36. Facebook Legacy Contact
Have you designated someone to manage your Facebook profile after death? Settings, then Memorialization Settings.
37. Google Inactive Account Manager
Google lets you choose what happens to your account after a period of inactivity. Set up at myaccount.google.com/inactive.
38. Apple Legacy Contact
Available in Settings on iPhone or Mac. Lets a designated person request access to your Apple account data.
39. Instagram
No pre-death settings. Family can request memorialization or removal after death through the help center.
40. LinkedIn
Family can request memorialization through the help center. Good to note if your LinkedIn profile has professional value.
Legal and Administrative
41. RUFADAA awareness
The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act gives your executor legal authority over your digital assets in 46 US states. Make sure your will references digital assets.
42. Will or trust language
Does your will mention digital assets? Does it name a digital executor? If not, talk to your attorney about adding a paragraph.
43. Platform-specific legacy settings
Review every platform where you can designate what happens after death. These designations override your will under RUFADAA.
Physical Security
44. Computer passwords
Desktop, laptop, work computer. How does someone get in?
45. Phone biometrics
Does your phone use fingerprint or face recognition? Is there a backup PIN? Where is it documented?
46. Home safe combination
If important documents are in a home safe, the combination needs to be accessible.
47. Bank safe deposit box
Which bank, which branch, box number, where is the key.
The Final Five
48. Accounts to delete
Old accounts you would rather not have lingering — dating profiles, old forums, anything personal. Note which ones and why.
49. Content marked "private"
Is there anything in your digital life you specifically do not want someone to see? It is perfectly valid to mark specific items "delete without reading."
50. Where is this checklist stored?
The most important item on the list. If nobody knows this document exists, everything above is useless. Tell your digital executor. Tell your spouse. Put a note in your physical estate documents: "My digital estate plan is in the safe" or "My digital instructions are in 1Password."
Your Next Step
You do not need to check off all 50 today. Start with the top five — password manager, primary email, phone PIN, two-factor authentication, and telling one person where to find everything.
The Digital Legacy section at mylo.family turns this checklist into three actionable documents: a Digital Vault for financial assets, a Digital Shutdown list for subscriptions, and a Digital Memory Map for photos and memories. Each one takes about ten minutes and generates a Word document you fill in at home.
Fifty items. One list. Thirty minutes to start. The difference between your family spending weeks in digital chaos and having a clear map from day one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to complete a full digital estate plan?
Most people can complete the essentials (password manager, email, phone access, top financial accounts) in thirty minutes. A thorough inventory of all 50 items takes two to three hours spread over a couple of sessions.
Do I need a lawyer for digital estate planning?
Not for the inventory itself. You can create a complete digital asset list on your own. But you should have your attorney add language about digital assets to your will or trust, and formally name a digital executor.
What is the single most important item on this list?
Your password manager with emergency access enabled. If your family can get into your password manager, they can access almost everything else. It is the one tool that makes the biggest difference.
How often should I update my digital estate plan?
Review it every six months or after any significant change — new financial accounts, new crypto holdings, new subscriptions, change of password manager, or change of digital executor.
What if I do not have a password manager?
Start there. Bitwarden is free and excellent. Move your most important passwords into it, set up emergency access, and write down the master password in a sealed envelope. One afternoon changes everything.
Turn This Checklist Into Action
Use our Digital Legacy tools to create documents your family can actually use
