Digital Accounts and Legacy Inventory

Who this is for

Your digital life, and what should happen to it. Each account, device and store of photos or files gets a line with what it holds and your wish for it, so whoever manages it later knows what you wanted without guessing.

Anyone with email, social media, cloud storage, online shops or paid services, and the family member or executor who will one day have to deal with them.

What this helps you track

• Every account and device, and who provides it
• The username or identifier, without writing down passwords
• What each one holds: photos, messages, files, money or credit
• Your wish for each: close, memorialise, pass on or delete
• Whether a legacy contact has been set up with the provider

How to use it

1. Write your name, the date and where your access details are kept, such as a password manager or a sealed envelope.
2. List each account and device with the provider and the username, email or identifier it uses. Do not write passwords here.
3. Say briefly what each one holds and choose your wish for it.
4. Where a provider offers a legacy contact or inactive account setting, set it up and tick the column.
5. Tick the devices and backups checklist as you record where each is kept and how to unlock it.
6. Review it once a year; the browser version saves in your own browser, and a printed copy belongs in the affairs folder.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Should I write my passwords on this sheet?

No. Record where access details are kept, such as a password manager and how it can be opened, or a sealed envelope with your solicitor. A list of passwords on paper in the folder is a risk to you while you are alive.

What does memorialise mean?

Some social networks can turn an account into a memorial page instead of deleting it. Whether that is offered, and how, depends on the provider; check their own help pages when you fill in your wish.

What is a legacy contact?

A setting some providers offer that lets a named person access or manage parts of an account after your death. Where it exists, setting it up is usually more reliable than leaving instructions alone.

Are online accounts part of an estate?

Some may be, especially those holding money, credit or content you own, and the rules and providers' terms differ. Check the rules where you are, and list anything with a balance on the assets and liabilities schedule too.