The Digital Legacy Checklist

Twelve things most of us never write down, and a calm way to start this weekend.

When someone dies, their family is often left with a drawer full of questions.

What was the password to the laptop? Which bank did she use for savings? Is there a pension we don't know about? Who do we tell about the photos in his cloud account? Did she want a burial or a cremation? Was there anything she wanted to say?

Most of us have a vague plan to "sort this out one day." We know where our own things are, so it doesn't feel urgent. But the people we love don't have that map. And the hardest moment to start looking for it is the week everything falls apart.

You don't need a lawyer, a special app or a free weekend to begin. You need a list, a quiet hour and a safe place to keep what you write. This checklist is the list.

The checklist

You don't have to finish it in one go. Tick off one or two items at a time, and come back to the rest.

1. Your devices

Phone, laptop, tablet. Write down how each one is unlocked, or where the code is kept. Without it, everything else on this list may be locked behind a screen nobody can open.

2. Your email

Your main email account is the master key to almost everything else, because password resets go there. Note which address matters most and how your family could reach it.

3. Passwords

If you use a password manager, the single most useful thing you can leave is access to it. Most good password managers have an emergency access feature: set it up and you're done. If you don't use one, now is a good moment to start.

4. Money

List your bank accounts, savings, pensions, investments and insurance policies. Just the name of the provider and the type of account is enough. Families most often miss small pensions and old savings accounts nobody remembered.

5. Crypto

If you hold crypto, your family needs to know that it exists, where it is held, and how recovery works. Never write your seed phrase in a plain letter or a will. Leave clear instructions on where it is stored and who can help, and keep the secret itself somewhere separate and safe.

6. Important documents

Where are your will, birth and marriage certificates, property papers, insurance documents and ID? A short note like "blue folder, second shelf, study" saves days of searching.

7. Photos and videos

Years of family memories often live in one cloud account. Write down where yours are and decide who should have them. Google offers an Inactive Account Manager and Apple lets you add a Legacy Contact, and both take about five minutes to set up.

8. Social media

Decide what you'd like to happen to your profiles: memorialised, deleted or left as they are. Facebook, for example, lets you choose a legacy contact in its settings.

9. Subscriptions and bills

Streaming services, phone contracts, gym memberships, software licences. A simple list helps your family cancel payments that would otherwise keep running for months.

10. Your wishes

Funeral preferences, organ donation, music you'd like played, who should be told first. These are the questions families argue over when nobody knows the answer.

11. The practical people

Your accountant, lawyer, doctor, employer's HR contact, landlord. Names and phone numbers are enough.

12. The words you never said

This is the one most people skip, and the one families treasure most. A letter to your children for a future birthday. A voice note for your partner. A thank you to a friend. It doesn't have to be long or perfect. It just has to be yours.

Who should receive what

Not everything on this list belongs with the same person. Your partner may need the bank details. Your daughter may need the photos and a letter. Your brother may be the calm one who handles the paperwork.

A few questions help:

Who will deal with the practical side? Choose someone organised and nearby.
Who should receive the personal things? Letters and memories are often meant for one person only.
Who is the backup? People move, fall out or pass away too. Name a second person for anything important.

Then tell them. A short conversation now ("if anything happens, the information is here, and you're the one I trust with it") prevents confusion and hurt feelings later.

Keeping it safe and up to date

What you write down is valuable, so treat it that way.

Never put passwords or seed phrases in your will. In many countries a will can become a public document after probate.
Don't email it to yourself or leave it in a notes app. Use a password manager, a sealed envelope with someone you trust, or an encrypted service built for this.
Review it once a year. Pick a date you'll remember, like your birthday or New Year, and update what has changed.

Your will and everything else

A will is important, and you should have one. But a will deals with assets and legal inheritance. It rarely covers the laptop password, the photo library, the pension nobody remembered or the letter you wanted your son to read on his 18th birthday.

Think of it as two halves: the will for what you own, and a digital legacy for everything else.

Start with one hour

You don't need to finish this list today. Start with the three items that would cause the most trouble if they were missing: how to unlock your phone, where your money is, and one letter to someone you love.

That hour is one of the kindest things you can do for your family. It turns a drawer of questions into a clear path.

We're building SealedLight to make this easier: a private, encrypted place for your letters, voice notes, photos, documents and instructions, shared only with the people you choose, only when the time is right. Early access opens in the EU in January 2027, and you can join the waitlist at sealedlight.com. But whether you use SealedLight or a sealed envelope in a drawer, the important thing is to start.

G.S.S, founder of SealedLight