Make sure your valuable online accounts can be quickly located in an emergency by a spouse, family member, or other trusted individual
Take an important step to protect your digital assets by creating a list of online accounts a loved one can use as a roadmap. Mylennium's Online Account Worksheet is a free tool that simplifies the process. Use the link found in the article to request your copy today.
We all depend upon online accounts for important aspects of our daily lives. If you use online services for email, social media, photo storage, financial and loyalty rewards accounts, or a revenue generating Internet business, ask yourself this critical question. Could loved ones locate online accounts in an emergency or would they be left searching frantically for your email and financial accounts when they are most needed?
Mylennium’s Online Account Inventory worksheet will ease your family’s burden and protect your digital legacy by providing information about your most important accounts. If you haven't requested your complimentary Worksheet click here or use the button below to request a copy.
Here’s a quick reference to help you complete the worksheet.
Service Name
Enter the online service name or domain name. If you want to list your Gmail account, you might enter 'Gmail', 'Google', 'google.com', or 'mail.google.com'.
Username/UserID
Specify the username or userID you enter to login to your account. Some online services require an email address while others allow you to provide a unique word for your username.
End-Of-Life Action
There is no Internet in Heaven so you don't get to take accounts with you. But you do get to decide how your legal representative should handle each account once you're gone. Select the end-of-life action you want from the dropdown list.
| END-OF-LIFE ACTION | |
|---|---|
| ACTION | DESCRIPTION |
| Close | Close this account as a final step to settle my estate. My legal representative may access the account but the contents should not be distributed to heirs or beneficiaries. |
| Distribute | Account stores digital assets that I want distributed to heirs and beneficiaries. After distribution, delete the contents and close the account. |
| Delete | Delete the account contents and close the account. Do not distribute to heirs or beneficiaries. (dating sites, adult content sites, private photos or writings...) |
| Online Tool | I used the service's online tool to specify how the contents should be handled once I’m gone. (Facebook and Google offer online tools at this time) |
| Memorialize | This service offers an option to “freeze” the account upon my death or incapacity. (Facebook offers a 'memorialize' feature at this time) |
| Continue | Account should remain open. See my entry in the "Notes" field. |
Account Asset Value
Many people have fifty or more online accounts a legal representative will need to settle. Make their job easier and indicate the type of value you associate with the account. Use the dropdown list to select an account asset type.
| ACCOUNT ASSET VALUE | |
|---|---|
| Value | Description |
| Sentimental | The account stores digital assets that have a sentimental value to me but perhaps not to others (photos, videos, music, social media). |
| Important | The account stores important digital assets that likely have value to others (email, social media, personal documents, financial records, device backups, genealogy records, ebooks and emusic). The account holds assets I would like to endure after I'm gone (blog, photo gallery). Check my "Notes" for direction. |
| $ | The account tracks assets with monetary value (investments, digital currency, loyalty rewards points, domain names, web hosting business, online gaming, online gambling), generates income (online business, ad revenue), or holds digital assets that have marketable value (my photographs, videos, writings, or designs). |
Beneficiary
Specify the name of the individual(s) who should receive the contents of the account.
Notes
Provide additional information that will be helpful to the legal representative responsible for settling your estate and online accounts.
After you complete the document, print and save a copy along with your other important personal documents. Update and reprint the document periodically to include new online services and remove old ones. Don't overlook telling your spouse, family member, or other trusted individual about the document and its location to ensure the information is readily available to your legal representative in case of emergency.
With your worksheet complete, consider using password management software to ensure your online account login credentials and other highly confidential information are safely stored but accessible by a legal representative in an emergency.
More digital asset protection products from Mylennium
Mylennium's Digital Asset Authorization creates a legal document that directs online service providers to release or withhold a legal representative's access to the contents of your online accounts as required by recent state laws.
Mylennium's Digital Estate Plan covers your entire digital footprint and provides all of the essential information a legal representative needs to settle the digital assets in your estate according to your wishes.
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