Digital assets
Most of us now own things that never existed in paper form. These guides cover phones, email, social media, photos, online businesses and cryptocurrency, and how to record them safely.
Reviewed by the Estate Advisory Group editorial teamLegally reviewed: 13 August 2026Last updated: 13 August 2026
- What Happens to Your Phone When You Die?How the physical handset, the operating system account, and the data on a phone are treated differently after death.
- What Happens to Your Email When You Die?Why email providers control access after death, how to request an inbox, and why an email account matters more than people expect.
- What Happens to Social Media Accounts When You Die?How memorialisation works in general terms, what families can request, and why accounts are licences rather than property.
- What Happens to Online Accounts When You Die?Why online accounts generally cannot be inherited as property, and how executors can still deal with them sensibly.
- Digital Assets and Your WillHow to deal with digital assets sensibly in a will, and why passwords and account details belong in a separate secure record instead.
- Can You Leave Cryptocurrency in a Will?How to identify cryptocurrency holdings in a will without exposing private keys, and why proper advice matters for larger holdings.
- What Happens to Cryptocurrency When You Die?Why cryptocurrency is only as accessible as its private keys, what executors need to do, and why professional advice matters for larger estates.
- Can You Leave Digital Photos in a Will?How to make sure digital photographs reach the right people, and why the will works alongside cloud account planning rather than replacing it.
- What Happens to an Online Business When You Die?How online businesses are treated on death, what makes them different from a physical business, and why bespoke advice matters.
- Digital Legacy ChecklistA thorough checklist for organising your digital life, so the people you leave behind know what exists and where to find it.
- Passwords and a Will: What Not to DoNever put passwords in your will; a will becomes a public document after probate.
- Subscriptions After Death: Cancelling and Closing AccountsSubscriptions do not cancel themselves; executors need to track them down and close them.
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Other guidance
- Make a willEverything you need to make a will in England and Wales: what a will does, what it costs, whether you can write your own and what makes it legally valid.
- Signing and witnessingHow to sign and witness a will correctly in England and Wales, who can act as a witness and the mistakes that stop a will taking effect.
- Executors and beneficiariesChoosing executors, naming beneficiaries, leaving property, money and possessions, and what happens to a gift if a beneficiary dies before you.
- Wills and familyWills for parents, married and unmarried couples, mirror wills, guardians, and how marriage, divorce and separation affect an existing will.
- Will guidesWhat happens if you die without a will, the intestacy rules, when to update a will, how to change one and whether you need a solicitor.
- Inheritance and giftsWho you can leave your estate to, leaving everything to one person, unequal shares between children, grandchildren, friends and the age children inherit.
- Property and willsWhat happens to a home when you die: joint tenants and tenants in common, leaving your share, mortgages, and whether an unmarried partner inherits.
- What happens when you dieWhat happens to bank accounts, joint accounts, pensions, ISAs and savings when someone dies, and how a will changes who ultimately benefits.
- Tax and estatesInheritance tax and wills explained: the nil rate band, residence nil rate band, spouse and charity exemptions, gifts and who pays the tax.
- Pets and willsWhat happens to your pet when you die, how to include a pet in your will, leaving money for their care and gifts to animal charities.
- Business ownersMaking a will if you own a business: company shares, sole trader businesses, partnership interests and what happens when an owner dies.
- Life eventsWhen to make or update a will: buying a home, moving in together, marriage, a new baby, travelling abroad, retirement and later life.
- Online willsMaking a will online in England and Wales: what it costs, fixed fee will writing, online versus DIY wills, and how quickly you can get one done.
- Gifts and wishesLeaving jewellery, cars, heirlooms and cash gifts in a will, giving different gifts to different people, and recording funeral and cremation wishes.
- Blended familiesWills for second marriages and blended families: stepchildren, children from a previous relationship, grandchildren and protecting a partner and children together.
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