In today’s digital world, people often leave behind more than just physical possessions when they die. From email inboxes to social media accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, and online business tools, digital assets frequently hold emotional and, at times, financial value. In Texas, digital assets do not automatically transfer upon death. Without a clear plan, your loved ones may struggle to access, much less manage, these accounts.
At Massingill, we help Texans simplify complex estate planning matters—including managing digital assets after death. Our estate planning team offers flat-fee legal services and secure online access to your planning documents, making the process easy and accessible. Whoever you are, we work with you to build a clear, comprehensive, and efficient estate plan.
What Are Digital Assets?
Digital assets include content, accounts, or files that exist in digital format. They are often stored online, on a device, or in the cloud and can be personal or financial.
Common digital assets include:
- Email accounts and messages;
- Social media accounts (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn);
- Digital photos and videos stored online;
- Online banking and investment accounts;
- Cryptocurrency and digital wallets such as Bitcoin or Ethereum;
- Online business tools and e-commerce stores;
- Cloud storage accounts (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud);
- Blogs, websites, and domain names;
- Music, book, or video libraries including, iTunes and Kindle; and
- Loyalty or rewards program points.
Because these accounts are password-protected and governed by terms of service agreements—the rules users agree to when using a website or platform—gaining access to them after death can be legally and technically challenging.
What Happens to Your Online Accounts When You Die?
Most companies follow their internal policies to determine what happens to your online accounts when you die. Those policies often include strict privacy rules that prevent others from accessing the accounts without legal authorization.
So, if you do not address digital assets in your estate plan:
- Your loved ones may not be able to access or retrieve important accounts;
- Your family could lose valuable online property (such as cryptocurrency) permanently;
- Sentimental content like photos, videos, or messages may be inaccessible; and
- Your social media or email accounts may remain active or used for unauthorized purposes.
By including those assets in your estate plan, you can grant the necessary legal authorization to your loved ones to enable them to access and manage your accounts.
Digital Estate Planning in Texas
Digital estate planning—the process of organizing your digital life to be managed or transferred after death—is an essential part of modern estate planning. With nearly every business seemingly requiring you to create accounts in contemporary life, planning for every individual digital asset can sound intimidating. Yet, with deliberate and careful guidance, you can ensure your loved ones know what to do when the time comes. You can even take steps to make that process easier for them now.
1. Create an Inventory of Digital Assets
Start planning for digital assets by listing each of your digital accounts, files, and platforms, including:
- Account names,
- URLs,
- Usernames,
- Passwords, and
- Notes on their purpose and value.
Ensure you store your passwords separately in a secure location.
2. Use a Password Manager
Password managers store your login credentials securely. Many password managers offer features that let you grant access to someone if you die or become incapacitated, meaning you are no longer able to manage your affairs due to a medical condition. These tools are often called legacy features or emergency access options.
3. Include Digital Assets in Your Will
Include digital assets in your will to:
- Name someone to manage your digital property after death,
- Direct how your executor should handle each digital asset, and
- Share account access through password managers or secure methods.
Include clear instructions in your will for what should happen to each account. For example, you can explain whether certain accounts should be deleted, transferred, or archived. Do not include passwords directly in your will because wills become public during probate. Instead, provide details in your will about where you stored your credentials.
4. Consider a Digital Power of Attorney
Texas law allows executors and powers of attorney to manage digital assets, but only if you give them express written permission. A power of attorney handles the affairs you grant them authority to manage while you are still alive but incapacitated. By creating a digital power of attorney and granting them the authority to manage your accounts, you plan for the unexpected, not just death.
5. Use Online Legacy Tools
Some platforms allow you to set preferences for your account after death, for example:
- On Facebook, you can name a legacy contact—someone you authorize to manage certain aspects of your account—or choose to have your account memorialized or deleted;
- Google’s Inactive Account Manager allows you to declare what happens to your account and data if you stop using it; and
- Apple’s Digital Legacy feature allows you to add legacy contacts to access your Apple ID data after your death.
Although these tools do not replace an estate plan, they can supplement it and make managing your digital assets easier for your loved ones when the time comes.
Note that, under Texas law, these designations can actually override other estate planning documents like your will, a trust, or power of attorney. Depending on the asset’s respective terms of service, failing to use the available tools leaves room for the company that owns the storage location to change access rules from under you. If you use these tools, and it is often wise to do so, ensure they align with the rest of your estate plan.
Consult with an Estate Planning Attorney
Digital estate planning is essential for protecting your legacy in today’s online world. Taking the time to plan ensures your digital assets are managed carefully and passed on according to your wishes. An estate planning attorney with digital asset experience can help you manage those assets. At Massingill, we aim to make estate planning easy. We can help by drafting the proper documents, coordinating with your overall estate plan, and ensuring your instructions comply with the law and terms of use for each digital account. Book a consultation today to learn more.
Joshua Massingill
Joshua Massingill is an attorney practicing in Austin, Texas. He serves on the Texas State Bar’s Law Practice Management Committee, the Leander Educational Excellence Foundation (LEEF) Board of Directors, and the Success-Werx Board of Advisors. He mentors young entrepreneurs in Leander ISD’s INCubatorEDU program and is active in his church.
Rate this Post
Loading...