A digital estate planning checklist your family can actually use

By Michele H., founder of Life on Track

“Digital estate” sounds complicated, but it comes down to one plain question: if you were unavailable tomorrow, would your family know what online accounts exist, where they live, and what you’d want done with them? Here’s how to map it — without writing down a single password.

What to map first

Start with the accounts someone would need first. You do not have to finish everything today — even a partial map gives your family a head start.

Your main email accounts — the “master keys” that can reset most other accounts
Phones, computers & tablets — and where unlock help is kept
Banking & bill-pay accounts — where they’re managed, not the passwords
Subscriptions & auto-renewals — and how to cancel each
Photos & cloud storage — where the family memories actually live
Social media accounts — and what you’d want done with each
Legacy contacts — the built-in tools on major accounts, set ahead of time
The extras people forget — loyalty points, domain names, a password manager’s existence

The pointer rule: record where access lives — “bill pay runs through the credit union app; recovery goes to my main email” — not the password or code itself. A map of where access lives is a handoff; a list of passwords is not. Before sharing, review the copy and include only what that person needs.

Why the list in your head isn’t enough

Most of a family’s digital life is invisible to everyone but one person. When that person is unavailable, the rest of the family can be locked out.

A note on the fridge or in a drawerBetter than nothing, but usually out of date within months.

A password manager aloneExcellent for passwords — keep using one. But it doesn’t tell your family which accounts matter, what you’d want done, or even that it exists.

One more thing, said plainly: a digital estate map is not a will, and Life on Track is not legal advice. It helps your family find and point to what matters — your estate documents still come from you and your attorney.

A calmer, private way to do it

Guided, not a blank spreadsheet. Private, not another cloud account. The Digital Estate add-on ($39; requires the Family Readiness Toolkit) walks you through mapping accounts, devices, and subscriptions — pointers only — and keeps the whole map on your own device, ready to hand off when your family needs it.

Guided prompts — a clear first step instead of a blank page
Private by design — your household information stays on your device unless you choose
Pointer-first — built to work alongside your password manager, not replace it
One-time purchase — no subscription

See pricing Explore the Interactive Sample

More guides

What happens to online accounts when someone diesThe plain answer — and the small steps that spare your family the runaround.

Organizing information for aging parentsHow to gather what matters, one calm conversation at a time.

What to put in a family emergency binderA practical checklist — and a simpler way to keep it current.

Start with the free 5-Minute Family Readiness Check

A simple, printable starting point for the information your family would need first — no account required.

Get the free Readiness Check