Digital Assets and Estate Planning: Don't Forget Your Online Life

When people think and talk about their estate or estate planning, they often first consider family heirlooms and items of sentimental value, bank accounts and tangible property. In 2025, however, your assets and belongings don’t just include your physical ‘things,’ but also encompass your digital assets.

What are digital assets?

Digital assets are anything that you own that lives online and these assets are not limited to things like cryptocurrency or NFTs. You must also consider your personality rights - your name, likeness and image - banking/financial information and your online profiles and accounts.

Your online profiles include:

• Financial accounts such as online banking and PayPal
• Social media profiles
• Email and cloud storage
• Subscriptions and streaming services
• Loyalty programs, such as collecting points at your favourite places to shop

How to handle digital assets in your estate plan

• Step 1: Create an inventory of all your online profiles and their logins. Your passwords and username should never be included in your will, but rather kept in a secure location where your digital executor can easily access them

• Step 2: Name a digital executor. This should be tech-savvy and trustworthy. This person can be the same as the executor of your will, but does not need to be. Although Ontario does not recognize a digital executor under legislation (yet), you can name this person in your will.

• Step 3: Clearly document your wishes for each account. Whether you want your account deleted, transferred or sold, it is important to be clear on your wishes. Some online platforms like Facebook have legacy features where you can turn your account into a memorialization upon your passing, if you wish.

• Step 4: Create or update your will. Your will should clearly state who your digital executor will be and what should happen with your digital accounts.

• Step 5: Update regularly. Technology is evolving, and your digital profiles may change. It is a best practice to review your inventory and logins yearly.

Access management

Your digital estate plan is a part of your larger estate plan, which should include a death binder. Collecting and keeping all the family’s most important pieces of legal and financial information together and in a secure location can be a tremendous resource in the event of an unexpected (or eventual) death. You can learn more about death binders here.

If you pass away without leaving a way for your family members to log in, they could lose out on memories, points and other monetary values, and dormant online accounts are vulnerable to hacking and other cybersecurity issues.

Never store your passwords directly in your will, as it becomes a public document after probate. Instead, reference a separate and secure location (like your death binder) where your executor can find them.

We are here to help

The information provided in this article is meant to inform and to educate. We strongly recommend that if you have legal questions relating to wills or estates, please reach out to a trusted lawyer for advice.

If you are in the GTA or Durham Region and are looking for an experienced estate planning lawyer to help with an estate planning transaction or simply to ask a question, McMurter &Associates has the experience to help you succeed.

To connect with a member of our firm, send us an email at info@mcmurter.com or call us at 1-800-756-7138 or 905-666-920 to schedule a consultation.