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Why it matters
Digital legacy planning sounds like something to think about later. Here is what a few hours of time actually achieves — and what happens when planning is left too late.
Nothing is planned
- Family members contact platforms with death certificates and wait months for responses
- Some platforms refuse access entirely — accounts are locked with sentimental content inside
- Subscriptions continue charging the estate for months before anyone notices
- Online banking accounts are discovered late, delaying probate
- Photos stored only on Facebook are inaccessible during the memorialisation process
- Family members disagree about what the deceased would have wanted for their social profiles
- A decade of emails, messages, and creative work is simply lost
A few hours of planning
- The executor is named on every platform and can act within days
- Subscriptions are identified from the account inventory and cancelled within the week
- The deceased's wishes for each account are known and honoured without debate
- Photos are backed up and available to family immediately
- Online accounts are found from the inventory — nothing is overlooked
- The executor can close accounts, preserve memories, and handle digital administration efficiently
- What could take months of frustration takes a single afternoon
What you achieve by time invested
⏱ 30 minutes
Your executor can act the moment you die
Platform protection — no specialised knowledge required
What you achieve
- Facebook will allow your nominated contact to manage or memorialise your profile
- Apple will let a named person download your iCloud photos, notes, and files
- Google will honour your instructions — either sharing data or deleting your account
- No platform will be locked indefinitely with no one authorised to access it
- No family member will need to provide a death certificate to a foreign company and wait months for a response
Actions needed
- 1.Set a Facebook Legacy Contact (5 min)
- 2.Set an Apple Digital Legacy Contact (5 min)
- 3.Set up Google Inactive Account Manager (10 min)
- 4.Note down what you have done and tell one person
Without this: Without this: your accounts default to each platform's standard death policy — which ranges from eventual deletion to permanent inaccessibility. Families regularly wait 6–18 months for access to accounts containing sentimental content, and sometimes never receive it.
How to set these up (step-by-step) →⏱ 2 hours
No account goes dark forever
Account inventory + password access
What you achieve
- Your executor has a complete list of every digital account you own
- Your executor can log in to accounts to close, transfer, or memorialise them
- Streaming and subscription services are cancelled, stopping ongoing charges
- Email accounts can be accessed to action outstanding matters
- Online banking and investment accounts can be identified and included in the estate
- No content is lost because no one knew the account existed
Actions needed
- 1.Create an account inventory — list every platform you use
- 2.For each account: note what it contains and your wishes for it
- 3.Set up a password manager with emergency access (1Password, Bitwarden)
- 4.Alternatively: write passwords in a sealed envelope stored with your will
- 5.Tell your executor where the inventory and passwords are
Without this: Without this: executors typically find 20–30% of digital accounts by chance. The rest are discovered months later via email notifications, bank statements, or family members mentioning them. Some are never found. Sentimental content — emails, messages, creative work — is simply lost.
Use the account inventory checklist →⏱ Half a day
Your wishes, in writing, with legal standing
Digital will clause + wishes document
What you achieve
- Your executor has explicit legal authority to access and manage digital accounts
- Your wishes for each account are recorded and legally referenced
- Any family dispute about what should happen to your accounts has a clear answer
- Your digital executor knows their role and has the resources to carry it out
- Your solicitor knows about your digital estate and can advise your estate executor
- Irish platforms and institutions recognise your executor's authority
Actions needed
- 1.Write a "Digital Wishes" document — one paragraph per major account
- 2.Name a digital executor (may be the same as your general executor)
- 3.Book an appointment with your solicitor to add a digital assets clause to your will
- 4.Update your will to reference your Digital Wishes document by name
- 5.Give your digital executor a copy of your account inventory
Without this: Without this: executors have no explicit legal authority to access accounts, and many platforms will not cooperate without it. Family members may disagree about what you would have wanted — with no way to resolve the dispute. In Ireland, digital assets are not clearly covered by the Succession Act 1965.
Irish legal context →⏱ A full day
Your digital legacy is preserved and protected
Backup, organisation, and optional legacy letters
What you achieve
- Your photos exist in at least two non-platform locations and will not be lost if a service closes
- Important documents are backed up and accessible to your family
- Your photo collection is organised and labelled — a usable gift, not an overwhelming pile of files
- Personal letters or messages are prepared and stored with your will
- Your creative or professional work is documented and its future is decided
- You have done something genuinely meaningful for the people you will leave behind
Actions needed
- 1.Download your Facebook photos (Settings → Download Your Information)
- 2.Download your Google Photos library (takeout.google.com)
- 3.Back up phone photos to iCloud/Google Photos AND an external hard drive
- 4.Organise backed-up photos into labelled folders or albums
- 5.Write personal letters to the people who matter — store them with your will
- 6.Scan important physical documents: birth certificate, key letters, family records
Without this: Without this: photos stored only on Facebook or your phone are at risk. Facebook has already changed its policies for deceased users' photos multiple times. Phone storage fails. Platforms are acquired, pivoted, or shut down. The content most people care most about — photos — is also the most fragile.
Long-term archive options →Ready to start?
The priority guide tells you exactly which action to take first. The checklist helps you track your progress.