Documents
Manage digital accounts and online presence
Email, social media, photo libraries, password managers, crypto, subscriptions. Each platform has its own death-of-user process.
- When to do it
- When you have time and the inventory is stable.
- Estimated time
- Ongoing; some platforms take months
What you’ll need
- Death certificate
- Court appointment documents (sometimes)
- Access to the decedent's password manager, if available
Steps
- Inventory active accounts using credit card and bank statements (recurring charges).
- Cancel paid subscriptions to stop the bleed.
- Memorialize or close social profiles per each platform's process.
- For Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft — request access through their bereavement processes.
- Crypto and password managers require careful handling. Don't reset anything you can't undo.
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Related tasks
- Locate the will and any trust documentsFind the original will. Photocopies are not the same as originals, and the original is what gets filed with the court.
- Inventory the estate's assets and debtsYou're personally responsible for an accurate accounting. Most courts require a formal inventory; even when they don't, you need one to administer the estate.
- Order certified copies of the death certificateYou'll need certified copies of the death certificate for nearly everything else — banks, insurers, the court, the Social Security Administration.