A close friend of the writer died unexpectedly at the age of 45, leaving behind a complex digital life that was difficult to untangle. The author, who lived nearby, took on the task of determining the logistics of their friend’s life, including digital accounts, banking information, and corporate equipment.
The process was challenging, with many obstacles along the way. A death certificate was only somewhat helpful, and the author wishes the friend had taken steps to plan their digital estate. This would have saved the author and the friend’s loved ones a lot of time and heartache, especially during a period of grief.
Digital Estate Planning
The author identifies four key steps that the friend could have taken to make the process easier. The first step is to add an emergency contact to a password manager. This would have given the author and the friend’s loved ones access to their accounts, allowing them to put their affairs in order and find last mementos to remember them by.
Multiple password managers, such as LastPass, Bitwarden, and NordPass, offer an emergency access option. This feature allows the emergency contact to request access to the password vault after a designated wait period. Others, like Dashlane and 1Password, instruct users to save and share their vault password with their contacts.
They note that Apple and Google‘s built-in password managers do not have an emergency access option, making it difficult for loved ones to access accounts after a user’s death. To keep some accounts secret, users can create a smaller set of backup passwords to share with their contacts, as long as they stay up to date.
The second step is to set up an email legacy contact. This would have allowed the author and the friend’s loved ones to access their email account and find important information, such as bank accounts, medical records, and active subscriptions.
Google and Apple make it easy to set up a legacy contact, with features like the Inactive Account Manager and legacy contact options. Microsoft, however, does not have a full legacy contact policy, requiring users to save their password or have a stored passkey on their phone or a security hardware key.
They also wish the friend had given access to their phone, which held secrets and contacts that would have been helpful in notifying people of their death. Additionally, ensuring access to their PC would have provided an alternative route into their accounts, allowing the author to peek at bank accounts, save photos, and extend subscriptions.
Their experience highlights the importance of digital estate planning, which can save loved ones a lot of time and heartache after a user’s death. By taking a few simple steps, users can make it easier for their loved ones to access their accounts and put their affairs in order.
Related Post: From Lab to Love Song: Composing a Personalized Song for Your Lab Grown Engagement Ring Proposal in London
Importance of Planning
The friend did not leave behind any guidance, such as a will or last directions, which would have made a huge difference in the process. The author recommends taking the time to plan one’s digital estate, including leaving a little note saying sorry for being gone.
They used a variety of services, including Apple Passwords and Google, which made it difficult to access their accounts after their death. Some services, such as password managers, can make it easier to manage digital accounts and access them after a user’s death.
A challenge faced was accessing the friend’s phone, which was locked and required a password. This is a common problem, and users should consider giving access to their phone to a trusted friend or family member.
The friend owned a MacBook and a gaming PC, which were both locked and required a password. This made it difficult to access the friend’s accounts and manage their digital legacy.
Phone and Two-Factor Hurdles
Having access to the mobile device would have removed several obstacles that appeared after the death. The contacts list alone could have streamlined notifying acquaintances, while text messages often contain one-time codes needed for account recovery.
Because the phone plan operated on a month-to-month basis, the carrier cut service as soon as the death certificate was presented. This loss of the phone number prevented the family from receiving verification codes, and the linked credit cards were promptly canceled, further complicating any attempt to reach financial institutions.
Storing authentication codes on the device is common, and without a way to retrieve them, service providers typically require a password reset, which in turn demands access to the primary email or a secondary recovery method.
The desktop environment offered another potential entry point, yet both machines were secured with separate credentials.
