What Happens to Your Online Accounts, Crypto and Money When You Die?

Updated 24 October 2026

Quick answer: When you die, your online accounts do not automatically pass to your family. Each company applies its own rules: Apple lets a "Legacy Contact" you have chosen download your data with an access key and a death certificate; Google's Inactive Account Manager shares data with people you name after a period of inactivity; Facebook can be memorialised or deleted, and a legacy contact can manage the memorial page. Money held in online banks, brokers and payment apps usually passes to your estate in the normal way, but your family needs to know it exists. Crypto is the biggest risk: if coins are in a wallet only you can open, and nobody can find the recovery phrase, they are lost for ever. Researchers estimate that between about 2.3 million and 4 million bitcoins, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, are already permanently lost. The fix takes an afternoon: list your accounts, set up legacy contacts where offered, use a password manager with emergency access, make a plan for crypto keys that does not depend on you alone, and mention digital assets in your will.

Most of us now live large parts of our lives online. Our photos are in the cloud, our money is in apps, our correspondence is in email, and our memories are in social media. Yet few people have thought about what happens to all of it when they die, and families often discover the problem only when they are grieving: locked phones, unknown passwords, subscriptions still charging a dead person's card, and investments nobody knew existed.

This guide explains what happens to different kinds of digital accounts and assets, the rules of the main technology companies, the special problem of crypto, the law in major countries, and a practical plan that will save the people you leave behind a great deal of stress.

Never write passwords or seed phrases in the will itself: wills can become public documents. Keep access details in a password manager or a sealed letter stored separately.

Why Digital Assets Are Different

For physical possessions, inheritance is well understood. An executor finds the bank statements, the house deeds and the jewellery box, and distributes them under the will or the law. Digital assets create three new problems:

They are invisible. There may be no paper trail. A family may never know that you had a brokerage account, a crypto wallet, a domain name or a paid cloud storage plan.
They are locked. Passwords, two-factor authentication on your phone and biometric locks are designed to keep everyone else out, including your family.
They are governed by contracts. When you open an account, you agree to the company's terms of service, which often say that the account is personal and cannot be transferred. Many digital "purchases", such as e-books, films and music, are licences to use, not property you own.

Privacy laws add another layer. In the US, federal law restricts companies from disclosing the content of communications without the account holder's consent, which is why email providers are cautious about giving families access.

Four Kinds of Digital Assets

Financial accounts: online banks, brokerages, pension and investment platforms, payment apps such as PayPal, and crypto exchanges. These usually have real monetary value and pass to your estate.
Crypto held in your own wallets, which no company controls. Without the keys, nobody can access them.
Personal data and memories: email, photos, documents, messages, social media. Usually of sentimental rather than financial value, and controlled by company policies.
Digital property and income: domain names, websites and blogs, online businesses, royalties, YouTube channels, loyalty points and airline miles. Some can be transferred; others cannot.

What the Big Technology Companies Do

Apple

Since 2021, Apple has let users add up to five Legacy Contacts. Each receives an access key. After your death, a Legacy Contact can request access to your Apple account data, such as photos, messages, notes, files and backups, by providing the key and a death certificate. Access lasts three years, after which the account is deleted. It does not include passwords stored in your Keychain or licensed media such as films and music. Without a Legacy Contact, families usually need a court order to get access, and a locked iPhone may be impossible to open.

Google

Google's Inactive Account Manager lets you decide what happens if your account is inactive for between 3 and 18 months. You can name up to ten people to be notified and to download selected data, such as Gmail, Photos and Drive, and choose whether the account is then deleted. Family members can also apply to Google to close a deceased person's account or, in some cases, obtain funds or data. Since 2023, Google may delete personal accounts that have been inactive for two years, so setting this up matters.

Meta: Facebook and Instagram

Facebook accounts can be memorialised, which adds "Remembering" next to the name and keeps the profile visible to friends, or deleted at the family's request. You can choose a legacy contact, who can manage tributes, change the profile picture and respond to friend requests, but cannot read your messages. You can also ask for your account to be deleted after your death. Instagram accounts can be memorialised or removed if family members provide proof of death.

Microsoft, Amazon and others

Microsoft has no legacy contact feature; accounts are closed after a period of inactivity, and families can request information through a legal process. Amazon accounts, including Kindle libraries, generally cannot be transferred. X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn and TikTok allow family members to request deactivation with proof of death. Policies change, so check each service's help pages.

Money in Online Accounts

Online banks, investment platforms, pension providers and payment apps are regulated financial institutions, so money held with them is treated like any other account: it becomes part of your estate, or passes directly to a named beneficiary. The executor contacts the provider with a death certificate and legal authority, such as a grant of probate in the UK or letters testamentary in the US.

The main risk is that nobody knows the account exists. People leave behind money in old savings apps, forgotten brokerage accounts and dormant PayPal balances. Unclaimed money may eventually be transferred to government schemes, such as state unclaimed property programmes in the US or the Dormant Assets Scheme in the UK, from which it can still be reclaimed, but only if someone knows to look.

Naming beneficiaries directly on pension, retirement and some investment accounts, where allowed, means money can pass quickly without waiting for probate. US brokerage and bank accounts often allow "transfer on death" or "payable on death" designations.

Crypto: The Biggest Risk

Crypto is different from every other asset because, if you hold it yourself, no institution can recover it. Coins in a self-custody wallet, whether a hardware device or a phone app, can only be moved with the private keys, usually backed up as a "seed phrase" of 12 or 24 words. If that phrase is lost, the coins are gone for good. No court order can change that.

The scale of the problem is large. Studies by Chainalysis, Ledger, River and others estimate that between about 2.3 million and 4 million bitcoins, roughly 11% to 19% of all that will ever exist, are permanently lost, through forgotten passwords, discarded hard drives and deaths without instructions. At 2026 prices, that is several hundred billion dollars.

The most famous case is QuadrigaCX, a Canadian crypto exchange whose founder, Gerald Cotten, died suddenly in 2018. He was said to be the only person with access to the exchange's cold wallets, and about C$215 million of customers' money appeared to be lost; investigators later found that much of it had already been misused. Individual cases are less dramatic but more common: families who know someone owned Bitcoin, but find only a locked laptop.

Coins on exchanges

Crypto held on a regulated exchange such as Coinbase, Kraken or Binance is easier to inherit. Exchanges have procedures for deceased customers' accounts, similar to banks, requiring a death certificate and proof of legal authority. The family still needs to know which exchange you used.

Digital legacy checklist

Tick what you have done. Your progress is saved in this browser only, so you can come back to it.

Steps done—

Your family's readiness—

—

Weighted by impact: the crypto plan and password access count most, because they are the things that can be lost for ever. Nothing you tick leaves your browser.

How to Pass On Crypto Safely

The challenge is to make sure your heirs can access your crypto after you die, without making it easy for anyone to steal it while you are alive. Common approaches, from simplest to most robust:

A sealed letter of instructions stored with your will or a solicitor, explaining what you own, where the wallets are and where to find the seed phrase. Never put the seed phrase itself in the will, which can become a public document after probate in some countries.
A seed phrase stored securely in a safe, a bank safe deposit box or a fireproof metal backup, with clear instructions on where it is.
Splitting the secret, for example storing parts of a seed phrase in different places, or using a "multi-signature" wallet that requires two of three keys, held by you, a family member and a trusted third party.
Inheritance services offered by some hardware wallet makers and specialist custodians, which hold an encrypted backup and release it to named heirs on proof of death. Check carefully who controls the keys and what happens if the company fails.
Keeping some or all of it on a regulated exchange or in a crypto fund, which is simpler to inherit but brings counterparty risk.

Whatever you choose, write down in plain language how it works. A family member who has never used crypto needs step-by-step instructions, and a warning to be wary of anyone offering to "help" recover the coins.

What the Law Says

United States

Most states have adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA). It sets a clear order of priority: first, any instructions you gave through a company's own tool, such as Google's Inactive Account Manager or Facebook's legacy contact; second, what your will or other legal documents say; and third, the company's terms of service. Executors get access to a catalogue of your communications, such as who you emailed and when, but not their content, unless you consented. So a clear statement in your will that your executor may access your digital assets and communications makes their job much easier.

United Kingdom

There is no specific law on digital inheritance in the UK. Digital assets with value, including crypto, form part of your estate; the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 confirmed that crypto can be personal property under the law of England and Wales. Access to personal accounts depends largely on each company's terms. The Law Society and other bodies recommend including digital assets in your will and keeping an up-to-date list of accounts.

European Union

Rules vary by country. In a landmark 2018 case, Germany's Federal Court of Justice ruled that parents of a teenager who had died could access her Facebook account, treating digital accounts like letters and diaries that pass to heirs. Other EU countries have different approaches, and the EU's data protection rules do not apply to deceased people, leaving it to national law.

Elsewhere

Most countries have not legislated specifically. In practice, the general rules of inheritance apply to anything with money value, and company policies govern the rest. A clear will and clear instructions are the most reliable protection everywhere.

A Step-by-Step Plan

Make an inventory of your digital accounts and assets: email, cloud storage, social media, banks and investments, crypto, subscriptions, domains, businesses, loyalty schemes. Note what each is and what you want to happen to it. Do not write passwords in this list.
Use a password manager such as 1Password, Bitwarden, Dashlane or the one built into your phone, and set up its emergency access feature, which lets a trusted person request access after a waiting period you choose. Store the master password and recovery details safely, for example in a sealed envelope with your will.
Set up legacy features: Apple Legacy Contact, Google Inactive Account Manager, Facebook legacy contact or deletion request.
Name beneficiaries directly on financial accounts where you can.
Make a crypto plan that would let your heirs access your coins without you.
Update your will to mention digital assets, appoint someone to handle them (sometimes called a digital executor), and give consent for your executor to access your accounts and communications.
Tell someone where to find the inventory and instructions.
Review it once a year, or whenever you open an important new account.

Photos, Messages and Memories

For many families, the most painful loss is not money but memories: decades of photos on a phone that nobody can unlock, or messages from a parent that disappear when an account is deleted. A few simple habits protect them:

Use shared albums or family plans, so that photos are already shared with relatives.
Download an archive of your accounts occasionally: Google Takeout, Facebook's "Download your information" and Apple's data and privacy tools all provide one.
Keep an offline copy of important photos and documents on an external drive.
Decide what you would like deleted. Some people do not want their private messages, browsing or journals read, and can say so.

Subscriptions, Domains and Online Businesses

Some digital assets keep costing money, or keep earning it, after you die. Both need attention.

Subscriptions for streaming, software, cloud storage, apps and memberships usually renew automatically from a card or bank account. Families often discover them months later. A list of active subscriptions, or a single card used for them, makes them easy to cancel. Be careful before cancelling cloud storage, though: if photos and documents live only in that account, download them first.

Domain names and websites expire if renewal fees are not paid, and a lapsed domain can be bought by someone else, sometimes to impersonate the previous owner or exploit its search traffic. If you run a website, blog or email address on your own domain, note the registrar, the hosting company and when renewals are due.

Online businesses and income, such as an online shop, a YouTube or Twitch channel, app store revenue, affiliate income or royalties from self-published books, can have real value and may continue to earn. Platforms have their own rules on transferring accounts and payouts, and some require the business to be held by a company rather than an individual. If your online income matters to your family, record how it works, who the platforms are and how payments arrive, and consider whether a business structure would make it easier to pass on.

What to Do When Someone Has Died

If you are dealing with the digital affairs of someone who has died:

Secure their devices. Do not reset phones or laptops; you may lose data or crypto wallets for ever.
Look for a list, password manager or instructions among their papers and with their solicitor or lawyer.
Cancel subscriptions and payments, and notify banks to stop card payments.
Contact each company using its process for deceased users, usually with a death certificate and proof of your legal role.
Check email, if you have lawful access, for statements from banks, brokers and exchanges you did not know about.
Be alert to scams. Fraudsters target bereaved families, especially with offers to recover crypto or claim unclaimed money for a fee.
Memorialise or close social media accounts to prevent them being hacked or causing distress with automated reminders.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I leave my social media accounts in my will?

You can state your wishes, and appoint someone to manage them, but company terms usually decide what is possible. Using each platform's own legacy tools is the most reliable route.

Can my family access my iPhone after I die?

Not easily, unless you set up a Legacy Contact or shared your passcode. Apple cannot unlock a phone protected by a passcode, even for families with a court order, though it may provide some iCloud data to a Legacy Contact or by court order.

Should I put my passwords in my will?

No. Wills can become public, and passwords change. Put access details in a password manager with emergency access, or in a sealed letter kept separately and updated regularly.

What happens to my Bitcoin if I die without a plan?

If it is on an exchange, your family can claim it with the right paperwork, provided they know the exchange. If it is in your own wallet and nobody can find the seed phrase or access the device, it is lost for ever.

Can I pass on my Kindle books or iTunes music?

Generally not. Most digital media purchases are licences tied to your account and cannot be transferred, although family sharing features can let relatives keep using some content while the account remains open.

What happens to airline miles and loyalty points?

It depends on the scheme. Some allow points to be transferred to a family member on request; others cancel them on death. Check the terms of the most valuable ones.

Does a digital executor have legal power?

In US states that have adopted RUFADAA, a person named in your will to handle digital assets has recognised authority. In other places, the executor of your estate has overall responsibility, and naming a digital executor is guidance for them.

Final Thoughts

Nobody likes thinking about their own death, but the digital part of planning for it is one of the simplest and kindest things you can do for your family. Without a plan, they may lose money they never knew existed, photos they treasure and crypto that can never be recovered. With one, they get what you intended, and some peace of mind at a hard time.

Set aside an afternoon. Make the list, set up the legacy features, sort out your crypto keys and tell someone where everything is. Then put a reminder in your calendar to review it next year.

Related Guides

Company policies are those published by Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft and others as of October 2026, and change often. Legal information covers the US Uniform Law Commission's RUFADAA, UK and German law in general terms. Lost bitcoin estimates are from Chainalysis, Ledger and River. This article is for education and isn't legal advice.