How do you arrange for your online identity after death? for Questionland Seattle

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How do you arrange for your online identity after death?

Are there things that you should put in your will?
Are there services that automatically follow your requested actions upon your death?
It's disturbing for people to continue to see your profile and get emails etc. and for them to have to decide what to do.

Grim I know, but I was curious if anyone knows.

Charles B asked in Other - Finance & Legal 10 months ago | Report

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Tracy M

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Ran into this a few years ago with a friend's father. And then NPR ran this story (the text synopsis isn't as helpful as listening to the audio file on the link) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104024294

Basically, as people have already stated, with your will or last wishes (or what have you), you should include username and password information, if you want your loved ones to have access. Certain sites have very strict policies and will NOT release information to the next of kin. Now, some people surely would welcome such a thing (I can imagine scenarios in which ones email is NOT an account they want their children reading). But, perhaps you would want them to be able to contact your internet social circles. So account and log in information for photosharing sites, music sites, etc. Heck, maybe you'd want someone to go tell your World of Warcraft guild that you've passed.

Many of us have multiple online social circles that may not be readily accessible to others, unless you leave written instructions and log=in codes somewhere safe.

Also, things as basic as YOUR CELLPHONE SECURITY/LOCK CODE, and your COMPUTER LOG IN information should be left somewhere. Otherwise, your family may not ever be able to retrieve family photos or other digital memories. (Of course, if you've an active sexting life or other things that you don't want shared, then maybe not). But it's something one really does have to plan for, or it'll all just be lost/frozen.

Tracy M answered in Other - Finance & Legal 10 months ago | Report

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Waiting for Don DeLillo to address this topic in an upcoming novel before I make any moves.

I guess your online account IDs and passwords are akin to keys to a safe. You're best off leaving your trusted survivors the necessary information to get in (and instructions, if any, about what to do) if you're gone.

capicola answered in Other - Finance & Legal 10 months ago | Report

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Interesting question. I don't know the answer, but I read an article about this problem in The NYT this January called Cyberspace When You’re Dead. It might have some useful information.

Ed B answered in Other - Finance & Legal 10 months ago | Report

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"lawyers" are the services that follow your requests after death. Even crap like logging into FB and telling everyone you've kicked your bucket. Estate Lawyers. Obviously, it helps to pay them in advance and keep them posted on your passwords and what you want. But you can pretty much ask them to do whatever the hell you want, given enough money and planning.

RacerX answered in Other - Finance & Legal 7 months ago | Report

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The one thing I'd request is that you have some way for trusted people to get access to your passwords to email, social networking, etc. A now-deceased family member was very active online, and the family wanted to be able to notify friends she'd made there and close down some of her accounts. They were also able to learn something about what she'd been going through recently, a concern in this situation, but fortunately it was fairly positive. (Though, obviously, you can make your own decisions about what you think about people going through your email). Incidentally, they also set up a separate memorial page on facebook as opposed to leaving her account up.

When you're dead, you're gone, but your loved ones still have to deal with it. Giving the right people control over your online identity can take some of the worry out of what they're going through.

pickled ginger answered in Other - Finance & Legal 10 months ago | Report

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