Arrange your digital estate properly too!

An estate usually consists of material things – from a painting to a business to a house. But increasingly, a digital estate is part of it too. It is then important that surviving relatives have access to the relevant bank account(s), insurance policies and computer files. How do you arrange that safely?

Marieke (48) always did the administration. She and her husband Theo had agreed it that way. She was a lawyer and extremely meticulous about data protection. She had a different password for every account. ‘Never use your date of birth as a password, kids!’ she told her children at every turn.
But suddenly the world changed; Marieke died unexpectedly in a car accident. That was tragic enough. Theo had to take over the administration and settle the estate. That became extra complicated when he ran into a wall of security that could not be broken through.

A notebook with passwords?
Theo: ‘We did have our will recorded by the notary, so I can access that. And I can of course see our bank accounts too. Perhaps very foolish, but I have absolutely no idea about insurance policies and the related companies, our proof of ownership and Marieke's social media accounts. I have no idea where to start to track everything down.’
He went to the notary with this problem. The notary said he more often came across cases where the will was perfectly in order, but the digital inheritance was more complicated. ‘Have you checked carefully whether Marieke had a notebook with the passwords in her desk? And isn't there a little overview in her phone?’ the notary had asked. But unfortunately the phone was not accessible either, and his wife was not the type to write her passwords down openly in a notebook. There was nothing for it but to go through the bank accounts. Look at the past year; which organisations had money been transferred to. And then simply call everyone.

No insurance cover
‘You don't want to fall behind on paying premiums, for example,’ the notary had explained. ‘If your buildings insurance is no longer covered because of a payment arrears and your house is on fire, then you are out of luck. The same goes for liability; the damage from the roof tile that fell from your house onto the neighbour's car, you can pay for yourself if the insurance premium has not been paid.’
With social media, too, it is important to close accounts. ‘It is embarrassing anyway when people congratulate deceased persons on their birthday. But inactive accounts are also easier to hack. That is related to the lack of updates. Even identity fraud is possible.’
His advice: put your passwords in a digital vault or cloud, or note down or communicate one specific password – for example for your computer – that in turn gives access to the rest. And of course you can also leave something like that with the notary or the executor. Then it is safe too.