When someone passes away, their family typically knows to look for a Will, contact the bank, and secure the house. But what about the cryptocurrency wallet, the Instagram account with a decade of memories, the domain name generating passive income, or the Spotify library with thousands of curated playlists?
Our digital lives have grown enormously over the past two decades, and most estate plans haven’t kept pace. The average Australian now holds more than 100 online accounts, yet fewer than one in five has made any provision for their digital assets in their Will. This gap leaves families scrambling — locked out of accounts, unable to access precious photos, and sometimes watching significant financial value simply disappear.
In this guide, we’ll explore what digital assets are, why they’re so difficult to deal with after death, and how you can ensure your digital estate is properly planned for.
The Growing Value of Digital Estates
It’s easy to underestimate the value of your digital life. Consider what you’ve accumulated:
- Financial accounts holding real money — online banking, PayPal, cryptocurrency exchanges, share trading platforms
- Digital purchases worth hundreds or thousands of dollars — music libraries, e-books, app subscriptions, in-game items
- Professional assets that generate income — websites, domain names, online businesses, freelance platform accounts
- Irreplaceable personal items — decades of family photos stored in the cloud, personal emails, creative works
Research from the Digital Legacy Association suggests that by 2025, the average digital estate in developed countries could be worth between $35,000 and $75,000 — and that figure is even higher for those who hold cryptocurrency or run online businesses.
Yet without proper planning, much of this value can be lost. Accounts get suspended, cryptocurrency becomes permanently inaccessible, and precious memories vanish behind locked screens.
What Counts as a Digital Asset?
Digital assets encompass far more than most people realise. Here’s a comprehensive breakdown:
Financial Digital Assets
- Cryptocurrency and tokens — Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital currencies held in exchanges or personal wallets
- Payment platforms — PayPal, Wise (formerly TransferWise), Venmo, Apple Pay balances
- Online banking — accounts accessed primarily or exclusively online
- Investment platforms — share trading accounts (CommSec, Stake, SelfWealth), managed funds, robo-advisers
- Loyalty programmes — frequent flyer points, reward balances (Qantas Points alone can hold significant value)
- Digital currencies in games — while it may seem trivial, some gaming accounts hold assets worth thousands of dollars
Social Media and Communication
- Social networks — Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok
- Messaging platforms — WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, iMessage history
- Email accounts — Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and custom domain email
- Forums and communities — Reddit, Discord, specialist forums
Entertainment and Media
- Streaming subscriptions — Netflix, Spotify, Apple Music, Stan, Disney+
- Digital purchases — iTunes libraries, Kindle books, Audible audiobooks, Google Play content
- Gaming accounts — Steam, PlayStation Network, Xbox, Nintendo accounts (and their purchased games)
- Photo and video storage — Google Photos, iCloud Photos, Flickr, Adobe Lightroom
Professional and Business Assets
- Domain names — registered domains, especially those with commercial value
- Websites and blogs — including their content, traffic, and revenue streams
- Online business accounts — Shopify, Etsy, Amazon seller accounts
- Freelance platforms — Upwork, Fiverr, Airtasker profiles and earnings
- Intellectual property — digital creative works, software code, design files
Personal Storage and Data
- Cloud storage — Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, OneDrive
- Password managers — LastPass, 1Password, Bitwarden vaults
- Digital documents — tax records, contracts, medical records stored online
- Cryptocurrency wallets — hardware wallets, paper wallets, seed phrases
The Unique Challenges of Digital Assets
Digital assets present problems that traditional estate planning simply wasn’t designed to handle.
Terms of Service Restrictions
Most online platforms have Terms of Service that technically prohibit sharing login credentials. When you die, your executor can’t simply log in as you — even if they have the password. Some platforms have specific legacy or memorialisation processes; many don’t.
This creates an uncomfortable legal grey area. Your executor has a legal duty to manage your estate, but the platform’s Terms of Service may restrict the very access they need.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Even if your executor has your passwords, multi-factor authentication (MFA) can create an impenetrable barrier. If your phone is locked, your authentication app is inaccessible, or your SIM card has been deactivated, MFA codes simply can’t be received. This is a particular problem for cryptocurrency exchanges, which tend to have the most stringent security measures.
Forgotten and Unknown Accounts
Over a lifetime, you accumulate accounts you’ve completely forgotten about. Old email addresses, social media profiles you abandoned, trial subscriptions that were never cancelled — each one potentially holds data, value, or personal information. Your executor can’t manage what they don’t know exists.
Cryptocurrency: A Special Case
Cryptocurrency presents perhaps the most extreme challenge. Unlike a bank account, there is no central authority to contact. If the private keys or seed phrases for a cryptocurrency wallet are lost, those funds are gone — permanently and irrecoverably. It’s estimated that roughly 20% of all Bitcoin in existence is locked in wallets whose owners have lost access, representing billions of dollars in value.
For cryptocurrency holders, estate planning isn’t just advisable; it’s essential.
What Happens to Your Accounts When You Die?
Each major platform handles deceased users’ accounts differently. Here’s what you should know about the most common services:
Google (Gmail, Drive, Photos, YouTube)
Google offers an Inactive Account Manager that lets you decide what happens to your data after a period of inactivity (3–18 months). You can choose to notify trusted contacts and share data with them, or have the account deleted entirely. This is one of the best legacy tools available, and we strongly recommend setting it up.
Facebook and Instagram (Meta)
Facebook allows accounts to be memorialised — the profile remains visible with “Remembering” added to the name, but no one can log in. You can designate a Legacy Contact who can manage your memorialised profile, pin posts, and respond to friend requests. Alternatively, the account can be permanently deleted upon request from verified family members. Instagram follows a similar memorialisation process.
Apple (iCloud, iTunes, Apple ID)
Apple’s Legacy Contact feature (available from iOS 15.2 and macOS Monterey onwards) allows you to designate someone who can access your iCloud data after your death. Without this setup, Apple’s default position is that accounts are non-transferable and will be deleted.
Microsoft (Outlook, OneDrive, Xbox)
Microsoft allows a Next of Kin to request access to a deceased person’s account, but the process requires a court order or other legal documentation. It can be slow and cumbersome.
Subscription Services (Netflix, Spotify, Stan)
Most streaming services simply require cancellation. Since these accounts are licence-based (you don’t own the content), there’s nothing to transfer. However, leaving them active means ongoing charges to a deceased person’s credit card or bank account.
Cryptocurrency Exchanges (Coinbase, Binance, CoinSpot)
Exchanges typically have a process for estate claims, but it requires extensive documentation — death certificates, proof of authority, identity verification. Without the account credentials, the process can take months. For self-custodied wallets (hardware or software wallets), there is no exchange to contact at all.
The Legal Framework in Australia
Australia does not yet have comprehensive legislation specifically addressing digital estate succession. This is a developing area of law, and there are some important points to understand.
General succession law applies. Your Will can direct your executor to manage your digital assets just as it directs them to manage physical property. The challenge is practical, not legal — it’s about access, not authority.
The Privacy Act. Australian privacy legislation can complicate matters, as some organisations may be reluctant to share a deceased person’s data without clear legal authority.
Terms of Service vs. estate law. There is ongoing legal debate about whether a platform’s Terms of Service can override an executor’s legal authority. Australian courts have not yet definitively ruled on this, but the trend internationally is towards recognising that executors have legitimate authority over digital assets.
State and territory variations. Succession law in Australia is governed at the state and territory level. While the principles are broadly similar, the specific processes for probate and estate administration vary. Our Digital Assets Guide covers the relevant provisions for each jurisdiction.
The key takeaway: while the law is generally on your side, the practical barriers to accessing digital assets are significant. Planning ahead is far easier than fighting for access after the fact.
How to Plan for Your Digital Estate
Here’s a step-by-step approach to ensuring your digital assets are properly accounted for in your estate plan.
1. Create a Comprehensive Inventory
Start by listing every digital account and asset you hold. Go through your email for account creation confirmations, check your password manager, and review your browser’s saved passwords. For each account, record:
- The platform or service name
- The website URL
- Your username or email address
- The approximate value (financial, sentimental, or both)
- Whether you’ve set up any legacy or inactive account features
This inventory doesn’t need to be perfect on the first pass. Build it over time and review it annually.
2. Store Access Credentials Securely
Critical warning: never include passwords or private keys directly in your Will. In most Australian states, a Will becomes a public document once probate is granted. Anyone can search for and read a probated Will. If your passwords are in your Will, they’re effectively published for anyone to see.
Instead, store your credentials in a dedicated, encrypted digital vault and reference that vault in your Will. Your executor needs to know the vault exists and how to access it — but the actual credentials should be behind strong encryption.
3. Use a Secure Digital Vault
A purpose-built digital vault is the safest way to store access credentials for your executor. Look for a solution that offers:
- End-to-end encryption — your data is encrypted before it leaves your device
- Zero-knowledge architecture — the vault provider cannot access your data
- Deputy or legacy access — a trusted person can be granted access under specific conditions
- Regular update reminders — because passwords change and accounts come and go
We’ll discuss ezyWill’s Digital Vault solution in more detail below.
4. Include Digital Asset Instructions in Your Will
Your Will should contain a specific clause addressing your digital assets. This clause should:
- Acknowledge that you hold digital assets
- Direct your executor to refer to your digital vault for access details
- State your wishes for specific accounts (e.g., memorialise Facebook, delete dating profiles, transfer domain names)
- Grant your executor broad authority to deal with digital assets, including consenting to Terms of Service where necessary
When you create a Will with ezyWill, we include a comprehensive digital assets clause tailored to your specific holdings. See our Will Writing Guide for more details.
5. Appoint a Tech-Savvy Executor or Digital Executor
Your executor will need at least a basic level of digital literacy to manage your online accounts. If your primary executor isn’t comfortable with technology, consider:
- Appointing a co-executor who is more tech-savvy to handle the digital aspects
- Naming a digital executor in your Will — someone specifically responsible for your digital assets
- Providing detailed written instructions that guide a less technical executor through the process
For guidance on choosing the right executor, see our guide on How to Choose the Right Executor.
6. Consider Cryptocurrency-Specific Planning
If you hold cryptocurrency, additional steps are essential:
- Document all wallets — exchanges, software wallets, hardware wallets, and any other storage
- Secure your seed phrases and private keys — store these in your digital vault and consider a physical backup in a secure location (e.g., a safety deposit box)
- Explain the process — most executors won’t know how to access or transfer cryptocurrency. Leave clear, step-by-step instructions
- Consider the tax implications — cryptocurrency disposals can trigger capital gains tax. Your executor needs to understand this
- Update regularly — the cryptocurrency landscape changes rapidly. Review your documentation at least every six months
The ezyWill Digital Vault
We built the ezyWill Digital Vault specifically to solve the digital estate problem. Here’s how it works:
AES-256 encryption. Your data is encrypted using the same standard trusted by governments and financial institutions worldwide. Every piece of information is encrypted before it’s stored, making it unreadable to anyone without the decryption key.
Zero-knowledge architecture. We cannot access your vault contents. Not our engineers, not our support team, not anyone. Your data is encrypted on your device before it reaches our servers. We only store encrypted data that is meaningless without your key.
Deputy access system. You can designate one or more “deputies” — trusted individuals who can request access to your vault. Access is granted only after a verification process that you define, ensuring your vault remains secure during your lifetime but accessible to your executor when needed.
Organised categories. The vault is structured to hold financial accounts, social media credentials, cryptocurrency wallet information, subscription details, and personal notes. This organisation makes it easy for your executor to find what they need quickly.
Secure sharing. When it’s time for your executor to access your vault, the transfer happens through encrypted channels. At no point are your credentials exposed in plain text outside of an authenticated session.
To learn more about our security practices, visit our Security page. For a full overview of ezyWill’s features, see our Features page.
Taking Action Today
Digital estate planning might feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be done all at once. Here’s a practical starting point:
- This week: Start your digital asset inventory. Open your password manager or email and begin listing accounts.
- This month: Set up legacy contacts on Google, Facebook, and Apple if you use those services.
- This quarter: Store your inventory and credentials in a secure digital vault.
- When you write or update your Will: Include a digital assets clause and ensure your executor knows about your vault.
The digital world isn’t going to become less complicated. The accounts, subscriptions, and digital assets you hold will only grow over time. The best time to start planning for your digital estate was five years ago. The second best time is now.
Ready to protect your digital legacy? ezyWill helps you create a legally valid Will that includes comprehensive digital asset provisions, paired with a secure Digital Vault to keep your access credentials safe. Create your Will today and ensure nothing is left behind.
