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How would he get to my PayPal account if I died tomorrow?

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What will happen to the online accounts I leave behind?

This isn't an exciting or fun subject to tackle, but it's one that I need to do.  I have a pretty substantial online life.  How do I want my computer activities to be handled if I die unexpectely?

I'm writing this for myself first, and it's a work in progress.  I'm going through these planning processes in real time as I make and update this page, starting on October 21, 2009.  It's kind of an online journal on display for the world.

Maybe some of you need to think about this, too.  If you've been putting it off just like I have, let's look at it together and make plans for the benefit of both our real-life loved ones and our cherished online friends.

And please share any information you have that would be a good addition to what I've got so far.

(photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Writing here on Squidoo has encouraged me to think about subjects that have been in the back of my mind for a long time but I've never gotten around to making them a reality. This is one of those subjects. I hope that nobody ever has to use these plans, but they'll be ready if needed.

I think I can do this myself

There are professional services like Legacy Locker that will handle this for you for an annual fee. There is also a service called WebWill that is available for an annual fee (WebWill is calling itself "in beta").

But I'm trying to do it myself. I'll save money that way and I'll have complete control over how the information is handled. So far it's coming along fine without professional help, but I'm open to the idea that I may change my mind later.

From the DigitalBeyond blog

The latest blog posts from TheDigitalBeyond, a site that deals with digital afterlife questions. They also have a good list of online services.
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New Year's update

Progress is good. Not perfect, but good.

My goal was to have my end-of-life plans for my online accounts all in place by January 1, 2010.

The holidays were busier than I expected (I got a lot of orders for my online business), so I didn't have as much time to devote to this as I was hoping, but I can report that I have gotten written instructions made for the most important accounts I have. I feel good about how much I have finished so far, and I expect that I can get the rest in the next week or so.

You can see point-by-point how I'm doing on my to-do items in the list below.

My To-Do list

When I finish something, I'll label it "DONE"

I welcome your suggestions of things I need to add to this To-Do List.

1

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Make a comprehesive list of all my computer accounts. -- DONE October 26th

I dug through my computer records, and I think I've remembered all the accounts I'm going to remember, so I'll call this one DONE. I'll may get reminders about other accounts from time to time, especially in this first year, but for now I'm going to go with the list I've got. On to the next steps!3 points

2

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Choose an "executor" -- DONE October 21st

Hubby's intimidated by computers. He's not the right person to go online and do all of this. Someone needs to do it for him. Someone who is comfortable with computers, who I would trust with my life savings, and who isn't too busy to devote the time needed for the task.

For a combination of techno-savvy, trustworthiness, and availability, I think the first choice would be my brother Greg. Second choice, my brother Thomas.

I talked to Greg and he said he would do it, so this one is DONE.2 points

3

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Decide where this sensitive information will be kept and in what format. -- UPDATED January 14th

My plan had originally been to keep it in a password-protected file online. But a commenter (Rusty-Quill) recommended that I should not consider an online file comletely secure, even if it's supposedly protected. So I think what I will do is keep the passwords themselves in a separate place and on paper only. The instructions for the steps I would like my executor to take can be kept online without the actual passwords.2 points

4

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Write out instructions for every account. -- IN PROGRESS January 2nd

Including, of course, the password and directives about how to close it out. Do I want to send messages to anyone? Try to turn an account over to someone else? Or just delete it? Put up a final blog post?

I'm about halfway through with this one. There are so many accounts to do. I started with the most important ones (the financial and church-related), so the most crucial accounts are done, but I'm continuing to work my way down the list.1 point

5

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Communicate all of this to the people who need to know.

1 point

6

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Make a plan for periodic review of the information. -- DONE January 2nd

I'm setting myself a recurring to-do item to review this every three months, so this item is DONE.1 point



It's a fitting coincidence that I started this process on October 21st, my husband's birthday.
Love you, honey!

Three categories of online accounts to consider: Financial, Work-related, and Social

Financial: Smoothing things out for my husband

You know how some homes have one chair that is the "Dad chair", that no one sits in but Papa?

In our home, there is one chair that is the "everybody except Dad chair", and that is the chair in front of the computer. My husband never uses the computer. I read his emails for him and respond to them. I type up the softball league standings for him, and I manage his league website.

If I were not here to manage our online accounts, Tommy would have no idea where to start. Even though we're broke, he would need access to the miniscule amounts of money I've got in the online savings accounts, the kids' college accounts, my IRA and his IRA (he doesn't even know where his own IRA is kept, much less know the password!). I bought a couple of savings bonds online once. I barely know how to get to them myself; he wouldn't have a clue.

I need to make a way for him to gain access all of these. And, truthfully, he'll probably need someone else's help to navigate all of it.

(And in case you're wondering, First Direct is not the online bank that I really use. I'll keep that part private.)

Work-related: Somebody else needs to know the administrator password

I maintain the church web site. I am listed as the owner of the domain name, and the hosting fees are automatically deducted from my personal checking account.

I've got tons of school documents in my GoogleDocs account, and I've been working on an open-source textbook for them.

This one's going to be a lot of work.

Social: I wouldn't want CoolKat881 and LittleCindysMommy to think I just quit speaking to them

I've got to take stock of my blogs and websites. I also manage one yahoogroups email list and one webring. I'm on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Flickr, Helium, and of course, Squidoo. I have domain names registered with Network Solutions and GoDaddy.

Oh, I also subscribed to a web-filtering service on behalf of a friend. Have to figure out how that would be transferred.
Important!

How do I remember what accounts I have?

We have so many memberships, that it's hard to recall them all. Here are the places I have looked to get reminders:

  • My browser bookmarks (among other things, this reminded me of my online accounts for paying the utility bills).

  • My email archives. Fortunately, I have a habit of archiving all of my "Thank you for joining XYZ" emails.

When I got them all onto one list, it turns out that I am responsible for 56 online accounts!

Have you done this already?

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What kinds of online accounts do people need to remember in their end-of-life plans?

I'll start the list. PLEASE add anything I haven't thought of yet.

NOTE: To add items, you have to be a member of Squidoo. But getting a Squidoo membership is fast, easy, and free. You can sign up here.

THANK YOU to the people who have added items to this list.

1

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Paypal account

14 points

2

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Online savings and checking accounts

8 points

3

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Affiliate accounts

Someone needs to know where to access all of this information, where links are placed and so on.7 points

4

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Online businesses

Zazzle and Cafepress, to name only a couple. These businesses need to be dealt with in the event of the owner's death.7 points

5

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Email accounts

5 points

6

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Web sites

4 points

7

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Investment accounts

3 points

8

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College savings accounts

3 points

9

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Domain names

3 points

10

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Blogs

3 points

11

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Adsense account

3 points

12

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Bill Paying Websites

These are sites where you can pay bills online by setting up an account with your utility company, credit card companies or car loans, etc. If you have it set to automatic payment from your bank account each month someone would definitely need to know this information.3 points

13

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Ebay accounts

3 points

14

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Social networking accounts

MySpace, Facebook, Twitter2 points

15

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Credit Cards

Some credit cards allow you to do everything online, they even have options to not get paper statements in favor of online ones.2 points

16

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Book publishing companies (for authors)

I look on-line to see royalties gained from any books I've sold. I also get e-mail offers which would need to be terminated. Someone would have to take care of these issues.1 point

17

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Retirement accounts

0 points

18

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Life Insurance Accounts

Some are set up to be "savings for college" type and pay out after 15 years.0 points

19

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Stock photography sites

0 points

I've found a few web articles on the subject

Some other people have been thinking along the same lines. Most of these articles tend to focus on one particular type of online account.
What Happens To Your Email and Social Networking Accounts When You Die?
From MakeUseOf.com. This article talks about the policies that various email and social networking sites have for dealing with accounts of people who have died. This is information that would be very useful if someone you know passes away without leaving any passwords or instructions. It doesn't talk about advance planning.

What Happens to Your Web Business if You Die?
From ArtOfMoney.org. This one talks about planning in advance for people who have an online business that they hope will continue running after their demise.

One of our own commenters (foovay) also talked about the benefit it can be to one's family to have income continue to roll in from online businesses.

Blogging Wills - What happens to your Blogs When You Die?
From ProBLogger.net. This article is geared toward people who blog for money in a serious way. The author is planning a way to turn his blogs over to his wife for her to carry forward and keep getting the income.

Do You Have An "AdSense Will"?
From someone who blogs about Adsense. Discusses planning for your loved ones to be able to manage your Adsense accounts.

Online memorial services

I've found a couple of places that will help you put together an online memorial or obituary that can be sent to your contacts in the event of your passing.
My Last Email
They will establish a memorial site, an obituary, and an online condolence book.

B Celebrated
They help you create a legacy website, including password-protected private messages for special people. They will also send out an automatic email to the members of your online communities.

Any books about this?

I haven't found one yet that seems to cover all of these issues.
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_Joan_

I live in Southern California with my husband and kids. more »

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