Stephen Moses of Law Society partner Zenplans offers tips to help your clients understand their digital legacy settings
Almost 35 years since Tim Berners-Lee launched the World Wide Web, most of us now live increasingly online. Our work, friends, social activities, shopping and yes, our financial and legal activities, occur within the digital realm. And when we die, our lives are no longer measured purely by the sum of our physical assets – digital lives must be considered equally important when gathering the details of an individual’sfull estate.
Importance of digital legacy
The fact that nearly all of us now have extensive digital footprints, and the implications of this, have not been lost on those in charge of online platforms. Industry leaders such as Facebook, Google, and Apple all offer tools that allow individuals to decide what should happen to their accounts – and the data they contain – after they pass away. These settings enable users to nominate trusted individuals to manage their accounts, ensuring that their digital legacy is handled in accordance with their wishes. Of course, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to the factors that need to be taken into account by legal professionals when dealing with a client’s digital estate today.
In recognition of this, I recently ran a webinar with the Law Society on the topic of digital legacies, and the results were revealing. While 85% of attendees had heard about digital legacy settings, the vast majority had not yet started advising their clients on how to configure them. This gap between awareness and action suggests that private client solicitors are only scratching the surface of this vital issue.
The aim of this article is to provide step-by-step guidance on configuring these settings and to show their importance within estate planning, so you are better placed to assist your clients in managing their digital assets after death.
Why digital planning matters
The importance of these tools can be summarised in three aspects.
Staying at the cutting edge of legal developments
As private client solicitors, it’s vital to stay up to date with industry innovations, and these digital legacy tools are an important example. Advising clients on how to prepare for the future of their digital assets is not just about being thorough – it’s also about offering a service that’s relevant in today’s world. By educating clients on these new tools, solicitors position themselves as forward-thinking, tech-savvy professionals who can provide guidance in this emerging area of estate planning.
Providing peace of mind to clients
Advising clients on digital legacy planning can prevent potential horror stories of data being lost, accounts being hacked, or sensitive information being accessed inappropriately after death. For example, a client may not want their personal emails or private social media messages to be accessible to anyone after their death, but they may want to ensure their family can recover irreplaceable photos stored in their cloud. With digital legacy settings, clients can ensure that their wishes are clearly defined and executed.
Engaging the next generation
Younger clients, particularly millennials and gen Z, are growing up in an era where digital privacy and data management are paramount. They will expect their solicitors to understand the digital side of estate planning. Advising them on the tools available to manage their digital legacy is not only important for peace of mind, but also helps solicitors engage with a demographic that will soon inherit significant wealth and responsibilities. Offering advice on digital legacy settings showcases your adaptability and awareness of modern concerns, which will help to build long-term client relationships across generations.
How to configure digital legacy tools
Helping your clients set up their digital legacy is not only beneficial to them but can also be a value-added service in your practice. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to configure the most widely used digital legacy tools.
Facebook memorialisation setting
Facebook allows users to convert their accounts into a memorialised page upon their death, which serves as a way for friends and family to remember the deceased, with a legacy contact appointed to manage limited aspects of the account, such as pinning posts or updating profile pictures.
Facebook memorialisation settings:
- Log into Facebook and navigate to the Settings section.
- Click on Memorialisation Settings under the General tab.
- Choose a legacy contact – someone who will manage your account after you pass away.
- Optionally, choose whether to allow this person to download a copy of your Facebook data.
- You can also request that your account be deleted upon your death if you prefer not to have a memorialised page.
- Save your settings and inform your chosen legacy contact.
Google Inactive Account Manager
Google offers the ‘Inactive Account Manager’ tool, which allows users to decide what should happen to their account after a prolonged period of inactivity. Users can choose to share their data with a trusted contact or have the account deleted entirely.
Google Inactive Account Manager:
- Sign into your Google Account and go to Inactive Account Manager (you can search for this in your account settings).
- Click on Start to begin setting up your preferences.
- Set a time period of inactivity after which Google should take action (such as 3, 6, 12 months of inactivity).
- Add up to 10 trusted contacts who will be notified if your account becomes inactive. You can choose which data they can access – such as emails, photos, or documents stored in Google Drive.
- Choose to either share your data with these contacts or instruct Google to delete your account entirely after the period of inactivity.
- Review your settings and activate the Inactive Account Manager.
Apple Legacy Contact
Apple recently introduced the ability for users to add a Legacy Contact, enabling them to grant access to their Apple ID and associated data – such as iCloud storage – after they pass away. This ensures that vital information like photos, documents, and emails aren’t lost forever, but instead can be managed by a trusted individual who can use their judgement on the provision of access to others who knew the deceased.
Apple Legacy Contact:
- Go to Settings on your iPhone or iPad and tap on your Apple ID (your name at the top of the settings menu).
- Select Password & Security, then tap on Legacy Contact.
- Tap Add Legacy Contact and choose someone from your contacts who will be your legacy contact.
- Once selected, Apple will provide an Access Key that you can share with your legacy contact. This key is necessary for them to gain access to your Apple account after your death.
- Store the Access Key securely and provide a copy to your chosen contact.
- When the time comes, your legacy contact can use the Access Key along with a death certificate to request access to your account.
A modern solution
While tech giants like Facebook, Google and Apple offer limited tools for managing individual digital accounts, more comprehensive digital estate management solutions are now available – solutions that enable clients to organise all key digital information in one secure place, nominate trusted individuals to have access when needed, and ensure that an account owner’s wishes for their digital assets are respected.
So, as digital legacy settings become an increasingly important aspect of estate planning, it’s essential for solicitors to stay informed and proactively advise clients on these tools. By incorporating more advanced digital estate management solutions into what they do, solicitors can enhance their service offering, position themselves as leaders in a growing field, give clients peace of mind, and future-proof their practices.
A final thought
Advances in technology and societal change have created an extraordinary opportunity for people to preserve the digital aspects of their lives for future generations – from photographs stored in the cloud, to personal reflections shared in blogs, videos or on social media.
Solicitors are now in a pivotal position to help clients make intentional decisions about what happens to these digital assets. Therefore, in many ways, solicitors are no longer just advisers on wills and inheritance; they are becoming custodians of entire digital histories. Helping clients manage their digital legacies allows for a richer, more inclusive form of estate planning that honours not just financial wealth but also the memories and identity that make each person unique. This modern role, blending tradition with cutting-edge technology, ensures future generations can connect with the lives of those who came before in ways that simply were not possible until now.
About Zenplans
Zenplans offers solicitors, and others in the legal and financial field, the most comprehensive digital estate planning and management solution on the market.
It’s a platform designed to help support clients in organising vital aspects of their lives and legacies in one secure place and helps to simplify the estate management process. It also offers an opportunity to initiate difficult conversations and to deepen relationships with clients and their families.
