Social media safeguards after you die
is the principal at Conrad Law in Townsville, specialising in business and succession law WHEN you die, what happens to your email account, Facebook and Twitter profiles?
Can your family access the photos you have saved online in the cloud? Can your Executor even open your computer to access all of those important documents you have carefully scanned and saved over the years?
It might surprise you to learn that you probably don’t own most of the material you post or store online. Without some prior planning, much of your digital “property” might be lost on your passing.
Worse, if you become incapable of accessing a computer yourself, it might be very difficult for your Enduring Attorney to manage your affairs. It might be difficult or impossible for anyone to access your computer and online accounts without your login details and passwords.
An excellent place to start is to set up a personal password manager app. Apart from making life easier for your loved ones if something happens to you, you will significantly improve your chances of avoiding the consequences of cybercrime.
Write down your login details for the password manager and leave it in a safe place with your copies of your Will and Enduring Power of Attorney. Let someone you trust implicitly know where they are.
If you are not comfortable using a password manager, then write down your online account login details and leave them with your copies of your Will and Enduring Power of Attorney. Make sure you use strong passwords for your online banking but don’t write those down ( just in case you get robbed).
If something happens to you, your Enduring Attorney or Executor will be able to access your bank accounts without log on details, after working through the bank’s safeguards.