5 Digital Assets That Can Screw Up Your Estate Plan

You don’t need to catalogue your whole online life.
But these five things? If you skip them, someone else pays for it later.

1. The Email You Use for Everything

Your executor needs access to this. It’s the key to password resets, two-factor prompts, and account notifications.
Without it, even basic recovery is blocked. If it’s locked—or no one even knows which address you used—access dies with you.

2. Your Payment-Linked Apps and Accounts

Not just PayPal. Think Stripe, Shopify, TikTok Creator Fund, digital banks, trading apps, subscription dashboards.
Many estates miss these because there’s no paper trail. Some continue charging. Some hold real balances. Some just disappear.

3. Cloud Accounts You Forgot About—but Others Didn’t

Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud - they’re full of contracts, tax documents, creative work, even unpaid invoices.
If you’ve shared folders or backed up devices, those files may still matter to others. But no one can see them without access.

4. Domain Names You Own Personally

These don’t show up in your Will. But they often have business, resale, or sentimental value.
If they expire, they get scooped up fast.
If they auto-renew and no one cancels, the estate keeps paying. Either way, it’s sloppy.

5. Crypto That Exists—and Vanishes Without a Key

Not theoretical. This happens all the time.
If you’ve got any kind of non-exchange wallet—hardware, hosted, hot or cold—and you don’t leave access details, it’s unrecoverable.
Not hard to recover. Just gone. Read FAQ - Can My Family Access My Crypto When I Die?

Final Thought

Digital messes don’t happen because no one cared. They happen because no one knew what to look for.

How you manage access is up to you. Just don’t assume your executor will figure it out without a trail.

This isn’t a master list. It’s a blunt reminder to note what matters—before no one can.