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How to Create a Digital Will: A Step-by-Step Guide

March 30, 2026

A traditional will covers your house and bank accounts — but what about your 160+ online accounts? Learn how to create a digital will that ensures nothing falls through the cracks.

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Your Will Covers Your House. But What About Your 160+ Online Accounts?

The average person has 168 online accounts tied to a single email address, according to NordPass research. That's bank accounts, social media, subscriptions, cloud storage, email, shopping sites, streaming services, and more — all protected by passwords your family doesn't know.

A traditional will handles physical property: the house, the car, the savings account. But it says nothing about your digital life. And in 2026, your digital life might be worth more than your physical one.

A digital will bridges that gap. It's a comprehensive plan that documents your digital assets, specifies what should happen to each one, and ensures your executor or family can actually carry out your wishes.

Here's exactly how to create one.

What Is a Digital Will?

A digital will (sometimes called a digital estate plan) is a document that:

  1. Inventories all your digital accounts and assets
  2. Specifies your wishes for each account (transfer, delete, memorialize)
  3. Provides access information so your executor can carry out those wishes
  4. Names a digital executor — the person responsible for managing your digital legacy

It's not a replacement for a traditional will — it's a companion to one. Some attorneys are starting to incorporate digital asset provisions into traditional wills, but most still don't address it adequately.

Step 1: Inventory Your Digital Assets

This is the most time-consuming step, but it's the foundation of everything else. Go through each category and list every account.

Financial Accounts

  • Banking: Checking, savings, CDs (list each institution)
  • Investments: Brokerage accounts, retirement accounts (401k, IRA, Roth IRA)
  • Cryptocurrency: Wallets, exchange accounts (Coinbase, Kraken, etc.), hardware wallet locations
  • Payment services: PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Zelle
  • Tax accounts: IRS online, state tax portals, TurboTax/H&R Block accounts

Communication Accounts

  • Email: Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, ProtonMail, work email
  • Messaging: WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, iMessage
  • Social media: Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube

Subscription Services

  • Streaming: Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, YouTube Premium, Hulu, Apple TV+
  • Software: Adobe, Microsoft 365, domain registrars, hosting providers
  • News/media: NYT, WSJ, Substack subscriptions
  • Health/fitness: Gym memberships, Peloton, health apps

Digital Property

  • Cloud storage: Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, OneDrive
  • Photo storage: Google Photos, iCloud Photos, Amazon Photos
  • Domain names: GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare
  • Websites/blogs: WordPress, Squarespace, Shopify stores
  • Digital media: Kindle library, Steam games, iTunes purchases

Business/Professional

  • Business accounts: Stripe, QuickBooks, business bank accounts
  • Professional platforms: GitHub, AWS, Heroku, hosting accounts
  • Freelance platforms: Upwork, Fiverr, client portals

Hardware

  • Devices: Phone, laptop, tablet, desktop (and their unlock codes)
  • External storage: USB drives, external hard drives, NAS devices
  • Smart home: Ring, Nest, smart locks (access codes)

Pro tip: Check your email for "welcome" and "account created" messages. Check your browser's saved passwords. Check your phone's app list. You'll find accounts you forgot about.

Step 2: Decide What Happens to Each Account

For every account on your list, specify one of these actions:

Transfer

The account and its contents should be given to a specific person. This applies to:

  • Financial accounts (transferred to beneficiaries per your will)
  • Domain names (can be transferred to another registrar account)
  • Business accounts (transferred to a business partner or successor)
  • Photo libraries (downloaded and given to family)

Delete

The account and all its data should be permanently removed. Consider this for:

  • Dating profiles
  • Social media you want removed
  • Old accounts you no longer use
  • Any account with private content you don't want shared

Memorialize

The account should be preserved as a memorial. Mainly applies to:

  • Facebook (has a built-in memorialization feature)
  • Instagram (inherited from Facebook's system)

Maintain

Some accounts need to keep running after your death:

  • Business websites and email
  • Domain names (until transferred)
  • Accounts tied to ongoing services your family uses

Step 3: Document Access Information

For each account, record:

  1. Service name and URL
  2. Username/email used to log in
  3. Password (or reference to your password manager)
  4. Two-factor authentication method and backup codes
  5. Security questions and answers
  6. Recovery email/phone associated with the account
  7. Your wishes (transfer, delete, memorialize, maintain)
  8. Special instructions (e.g., "Download all photos before deleting")

The Password Manager Question

If you use a password manager (and you should), you have two options:

Option A: Share your master password Document your password manager's master password in your digital will. This gives your executor access to everything. The risk: if your digital will is compromised, so is everything.

Option B: Document critical accounts individually Only include login details for the most important accounts. Use your password manager for daily security but don't rely on it as your sole digital estate tool.

Our recommendation: Use both. Document the password manager master password as a backup, AND individually document the 10-20 most critical accounts so your executor doesn't need to figure out your password manager's interface while grieving.

Step 4: Name a Digital Executor

Your digital executor is the person who will carry out your digital wishes. This can be:

  • The same person as your traditional will executor
  • A different person who is more tech-savvy
  • A co-executor who handles digital while another handles physical

Choose someone who:

  • Is comfortable with technology
  • You trust with sensitive information
  • Is likely to outlive you (or be available)
  • Understands your wishes

Important: Tell them they've been named. Give them a general sense of what's involved. They don't need details now — just awareness.

Step 5: Legal Considerations

The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA)

As of 2024, 49 U.S. states have adopted some version of RUFADAA, which gives executors the legal authority to manage a deceased person's digital assets. Key provisions:

  • Users can specify in their will or through online tools who can access their accounts
  • Service providers must honor these designations
  • Executors get access to a catalog of digital assets (but not necessarily the content — this varies)

What RUFADAA Means for Your Digital Will

  • Your wishes take priority over a platform's terms of service
  • You should explicitly authorize digital access in your traditional will
  • Have your attorney include a clause like: "I authorize my executor to access, manage, and dispose of my digital assets as specified in my digital will"

International Considerations

If you have accounts with international services or live outside the U.S., digital asset laws vary significantly by country. The EU's GDPR, for example, doesn't have clear provisions for deceased individuals' data. Consult with an attorney who specializes in digital assets if you have international complexity.

Step 6: Store Your Digital Will Securely

This is where most people get stuck. Your digital will contains the keys to your entire digital life. It needs to be:

  1. Secure — encrypted so a breach doesn't expose everything
  2. Accessible — your executor can actually get to it when needed
  3. Current — updated as your accounts change
  4. Deliverable — gets to the right people at the right time

What Doesn't Work

  • Paper in a safe deposit box: Banks can take weeks to grant access after death
  • Unencrypted file on your computer: Anyone who accesses your computer can read it
  • Email draft: Insecure and depends on someone knowing to look there
  • Shared Google Doc: Not encrypted, Google can read it, account access could be lost

What Works

A zero-knowledge encrypted platform with automatic delivery.

Killswitch was built specifically for this use case:

  • Write your digital will as a document and upload it encrypted
  • Your data is encrypted in your browser before reaching Killswitch's servers — zero-knowledge means no one can read it but you and your beneficiaries
  • Set a deadman switch so the digital will is automatically delivered if you stop checking in
  • Update your will anytime — just upload a new version
  • Add video messages to explain complex instructions
  • Name multiple beneficiaries who each receive their designated files

Step 7: Keep It Updated

A digital will is only useful if it's current. Set a reminder to review and update it:

  • Quarterly: Quick scan — any new accounts? Changed passwords?
  • Annually: Full review — verify all accounts, update wishes, confirm executor
  • After major life events: Marriage, divorce, new child, job change, business creation

Quick-Start Template

If you want to start right now, here's a minimal digital will you can fill out in 15 minutes:

DIGITAL WILL — [Your Name] — [Date]

DIGITAL EXECUTOR: [Name, relationship, contact info]
BACKUP EXECUTOR: [Name, relationship, contact info]

PASSWORD MANAGER: [Service name, master password hint/location]

TOP 10 CRITICAL ACCOUNTS:
1. [Bank] — [wishes: transfer to spouse]
2. [Email] — [wishes: keep active for 1 year, then delete]
3. [Social media] — [wishes: memorialize/delete]
4. [Investment account] — [wishes: transfer per will]
5. [Cloud storage] — [wishes: download photos, then delete]
...

SUBSCRIPTIONS TO CANCEL:
[List with approximate monthly cost]

DEVICES:
- Phone: [model, unlock code]
- Laptop: [model, password]
- Tablet: [model, password]

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
[Anything else your executor needs to know]

Encrypt this document and store it in Killswitch with a deadman switch configured. That's the foundation — you can expand it over time.

The Cost of Not Having a Digital Will

Without a digital will, your family faces:

  • Months of calling customer service lines with death certificates
  • Lost accounts they didn't even know existed
  • Ongoing charges from subscriptions they can't cancel
  • Lost memories trapped in accounts they can't access
  • Legal fees to petition courts for account access

15 minutes now saves weeks of pain later.

Killswitch makes digital estate planning effortless with zero-knowledge encryption and automatic deadman switch delivery. Create your digital will today →