An increasing part of our lives takes place online. We have photos, passwords, social media accounts and even bank details that are only accessible via the internet. But what happens to our digital legacy after we die? “Heirs are often at a loss when it comes to finding the deceased's documents and login details”, experts say.
When a person passes away their smartphones, email and social media accounts often live on. Their relatives often don’t know that that have to access the accounts in order to shut them down. Notary Carol Bohyn told VRT News that "Heirs are often at a loss as to how they should the deceased's online documents and login details,"
This also plays a role with regard to the practical arrangements regarding the deceased’s funeral. “Who should be invited to the funeral, for example? The names of friends (former) colleagues and other are often stored in a smartphone.” Sometimes this can lead to awkward situations. “I've heard of a funeral director having to unlock a mobile phone with a finger or facial recognition while holding the deceased, but that's not so straightforward”, Carol Bohyn said.
Your digital safe
You can make things a lot easier for those you leave behind by arranging your digital legacy prior to your passing by using a digital safe site such as Izimi.
“Izimi is a digital safe, available as a website and app, free of charge and managed by notaries. Anyone in Belgium can use it and upload documents to it.”
The contents of digital safety can vary greatly. “From invoices and home renovation documents to an overview of a person’s accounts, their passwords, and so on.” You decide whether the information in your safe will be accessible to your heirs after your death.
However, “If, like in the film Mission Impossible, you want the safe to ‘explode’ upon your death this can be arranged too”, Carol Bohyn said
Other options
If you haven’t used a digital safe while you were alone, there are other options. For example, the digital legacy expert Sander van der Meer of the Dutch company Digital Life Legacy offers a less conventional solution. For a fee his company will unlock computers and smartphones at the request of a deceased person’s heirs.
But is this legal? “European privacy legislation no longer applies after a person has died. Surviving relatives become the owners of the deceased’s telephone or computer through inheritance law and are therefore allowed to do anything they want with them”.
According to Sander Van der Meer, who also receives requests from Belgium, it often revolves around access to cherished photos, videos and WhatsApp conversations.
What should you do with online accounts?
Van der Meer warns against closing the online accounts of a deceased person too quickly. “Nowadays, you first need to know what this kind of account is. Think of cryptocurrency or cloud storage such as Dropbox. If you cancel the account, you will also lose all this data.”
Meta, the company behind Instagram and Facebook, gives you the option to choose what should happen to your profile when you die. With most other platforms, such as TikTok or LinkedIn, the next of kin must contact the platform after the death.
Sander Van der Meer told VRT News that “We hardly know anyone these days that doesn't have a digital legacy”. That’s why it is a good idea to start thing about now and spare those close to you additional headaches and heartache after your death.