Digital Legacy Checklist

Start with the physical devices you use every day, since these often hold data that is not backed up anywhere else and are usually the first thing a family encounters. For each device, note what it is, whether it is passcode protected, and whether any backup exists elsewhere.

These are the accounts that tend to unlock everything else, so they deserve particular care and an accurate, current record. An email account in particular is often the key to resetting access on many other services, so make sure it is clearly identified.

Note each platform you use regularly, along with any preference for what should happen to the account, such as whether you would want it memorialised or deleted. This is useful guidance for family even though the final decision usually rests with whoever comes forward to make a request to the platform.

Ongoing subscriptions can continue charging a card after death if nobody cancels them, and some accounts hold balances or credit worth claiming. List anything with a recurring payment or a stored balance so it can be dealt with promptly.

Digital photographs and personal files are often scattered across several places, and it is easy to lose track of where the most important ones actually sit. Record this clearly so nothing meaningful is missed.

These items can carry significant value and, in the case of cryptocurrency, can be lost permanently if access details are not recorded securely. Take particular care here, and consider specialist advice for anything substantial.

Once you have worked through the sections above, the completed detail, including passwords and access notes, should go into a password manager with a securely shared master password, or a written document kept somewhere physically secure such as a safe. It should never go into your will, since the will becomes a public document once probate is granted and anything written into it loses its privacy at that point.

Tell one trusted person, such as your named executor or a close family member, that this record exists and roughly where to find it, even if you do not want to share its full contents while you are alive. Review and update it whenever you open a new account, close an old one, or change how you store your important information.