How to Prepare Your Digital Assets Before You Die—and Even Leave Behind an AI Clone
By Kianna C. Parviz, Esq.
With advances in technology over the last few decades, many of us have acquired significant digital assets, so it is important to consider how you want such assets handled upon death. Digital assets can include cryptocurrencies, blog or website content, social media content, pictures and document storage, music, etc. There are simple things you can do now to make it easier for loved ones to manage your digital assets upon your death.
California law authorizes a decedent’s personal representative or trustee to access and manage digital assets and electronic communications as specified in a will or trust. Therefore, it is a good idea to have a digital assets clause in your trust that spells out your desires for how digital assets are handled, disclosed, and transferred after your death.
Managing Your Digital Legacy
Some custodians of digital assets—like Apple, Google, or Facebook (a.k.a Meta)—offer their users “online tools” to tell these companies how digital assets are to be handled upon the user’s death. For instance, Apple includes a “Digital Legacy Program” for its iCloud accounts, which allows you to name up to five Legacy Contacts who will have access to your account. To access your account, the Legacy Contact will need your access key and a death certificate. Then, they can access most of what is in your iCloud account: your photos, messages, email, notes, files, contacts, calendars, downloaded apps, and device backups. Google has a similar “Inactive Account Manager” program to handle your digital legacy, which applies if you pass away or become sick or disabled. When setting it up, you have the option to decide:
- When the inactive account manager settings will kick in (for example, if your account has been inactive for 3 months),
- Who to notify (up to ten people),
- What information each person selected can access,
- Whether or not everything should be deleted.
Organizing Your Digital Legacy
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (a.k.a Meta) all have similar systems in place, but they differ when it comes to how customizable they are. If you’re interested in learning more about how to set up these systems for each of these accounts/custodians, you can find detailed information on the digital legacy process blog here.
Some people have also started writing a final message that they want posted on their blog or social media accounts. However, this is something that you would likely want to update regularly. It’s important to know that a custodian’s online tool would take precedence over a will or trust, so tools like Google’s Inactive Account Manager and Apple’s Legacy Contact, which allow the account user to name a successor, take priority over all other instructions.
Streamlining Your Digital Estate
In addition to setting up the above programs for your accounts, and including a digital assets clause in your trust, you can do things to make it easier for loved ones to handle your digital assets when you’re gone. First, labeling your files clearly will help your survivors know what files they can and should look at and what files they should not open (i.e., “critical,” “delete upon death,” “memorabilia,” etc.) You want to make sure that it is easy for your loved ones to find critical information such as legal and financial information, your estate planning documents and attorney, passwords, instructions on caring for pets or your home, etc.
If you have files that you want deleted upon death (like journal entries, pictures, etc.), it’s best to put them all in one place that can be easily deleted or destroyed (like on an external hard drive that is locked away and which is to be destroyed pursuant to the terms of your trust’s digital assets clause). It’s also a good idea to have a master document that your survivors know how to access, which explains your labeling system, where to find things, etc. This master document can include your digital subscriptions that can be canceled, contact information for your key contacts, utilities on paperless billing, and other potentially time-sensitive information.
Leaving an AI Legacy
Another recent development is the option to leave an AI copy of yourself for loved ones. This would mean that you leave your digital files behind for use by AI, allowing family and friends to ask what you did for your 50th birthday, to see pictures from your last family vacation, etc. A new service called Eternos creates an AI double, where you train it to act like you after you’ve passed away. With this service, you tell AI your thoughts and memories so it learns to mimic your personality and voice. It can even generate new ideas similar to what you might think. The cost for this service ranges from $10,000 – $15,000, and there’s already a waitlist to sign up. Of course, while some people are excited about these advances and options, many are uncomfortable with the idea of an AI version of themselves.
Regardless of your comfort level with AI, technology, etc., as technology advances, it’s important to stay on top of your digital files and assets, ensuring they’re labeled, organized, and accessible to your survivors. You’ll also want to ensure that your estate planning documents are current. Lastly, having conversations with loved ones about your wishes and expectations is essential.