Thinking and talking about death is never easy. Most of us avoid it at all costs or think they will get to it someday. It is never easy to think or even talk about your own mortality. However, in today’s digital world, planning your final affairs is no longer just about filing paperwork. Today, you have to worry about your social media, cloud storage and other digital footprint. This is where a digital vault and digital death planner becomes essential.
Digital death planner is a modern approach to estate preparations. It brings clarity and peach of mind to both your loved ones and yourself. Exit Life Ready is an app that acts as a digital death planner. It acts as your digital vault, where you can keep your legal document, your medical decisions, you can assign your digital executor and record your legacy video. The app is available to download to ensure that you have the perfect digital death planner!
Why Digital Planning Matters More Than Ever
If you think about how much of our life is digital, this makes digital end of life planning even more important. From financial bills such as bank statements, to photos being stored in the cloud, to medical records being able to access through your hospital network or labs, everything we do is now migrating to digital. Both legal and medical documents are increasingly migrating to the digital formats, so should your end of life prep.
When someone passes away without a clear plan for these digital assets, loved ones are often left locked out, confused, or worst ignore. Passwords maybe missing. Accounts can be frozen. Platforms of usage unknown. This digital nightmare is what a lot of loved ones are faced to deal with at the time they should be grieving.
A digital death planner helps prevent this by having a centered information that is outlining clear instructions. This includes social media platforms, bank accounts, photos and videos stored in the cloud, and other platforms that were used.
What Is a Digital Death Planner?
Digital death planner inside the Exit Life Ready app, allows for a structured system in a secure environment to document and organize all aspects of your final affairs including being your digital vault. This can include:
- Accounts and passwords
- Legal documents including wills and power of attorney which can be accessed anytime, anywhere
- Medical directives and care instructions
- Legacy content for loved ones including a legacy video
- Instructions about online subscriptions, content and personal preferences
Traditional estate planning focuses on financial assets and legal documents. A digital vault on the other goes beyond which includes your digital assets, and legacy recordings. While legacy video, recipes, photos and personal notes may not be of importance to your lawyer or financial planer, they are priceless to those left behind.
Final Affairs Go Beyond Paperwork
Final affairs often refer to funeral and wills. However, it goes beyond the legal documents and funeral arrangements. It goes beyond the practical but more into the emotional state of how you want to be remembered.
This might mean clarifying your wishes for end of life care, choosing who will notify contacts, who is responsible for your digital assets, deciding what happens to your social media profiles, or leaving guidance for how personal files should be handled. A thoughtful digital death planner helps you take control of these decisions while you are able to do so calmly and intentionally.
By planning ahead, you are not being morbid you are being considerate. You are also doing it on your own terms. You may want your friend to deal with your social media, while your children are left with your legacy content, and you may want your accountant to oversee your financials. All these considerations can help your loved ones in the hardest moment, and leave you with a peace of mind over all assets physical and digital.
Estate Preparation in the Digital Age
Estate planning traditionally has ben focused on physical assets such as your property, car, investment accounts, and personal belongs. Today it is also includes your digital assets or property, this can include your family videos and photos but also your intellectual property, online subscriptions, and other digital assets.
Without proper planning, your close family members but not be able to access your accounts. A digital death planner can allow to clearly state who can access what and under what conditions.
It does not have to be super formal, it can be done gradually and updated overtime to adjust as your life changes. It is best to treat it as a living document rather than a one time task. We typically update wills when life changes dramatically such as new births, deaths, weddings, etc… However, in digital world, things move faster, we may buy a lifetime subscription to an app, download new photos and store it with a different provider, we upload photos and videos to social media throughout the week. Therefore, digital death planner should be updated throughout the years to reflect changes in your life no matter how small!
The Role of a Digital Executor
One step in your digital death plan is to identify a digital executor. This person or persons are responsible for carrying out their digital wishes after you are no longer able to.
A Digital executor may handle tasks such as:
- Closing and memorializing social media accounts
- Managing your online subscriptions
- Distribute digital photos and videos to family and friends
- Coordinate access to important digital documents
Digital executor should be someone you can not only trust but also who is comfortable with technology and understands your values and preferences. It does not have to be the same person that is a traditional executor of your will.
Clearly defining this role can spare your loved ones countless hours of stress and uncertainty.
Emotional Relief for Loved Ones
The biggest benefit for having a digital death plan is providing emotional relief for your loved ones during the time of grieving. Grief already carries enough weight. When people are also forced to navigate legal systems, forgotten passwords, and unanswered questions, the burden multiplies.
By having your final affairs in advance take care of everything from legal requirements to medical decision you give your family a gift of clarity. No more guessing what social media tools you used, what digital subscriptions you had, how to access your medical and legal documents online. Instead of searching endlessly for your digital footprint, they can instead focus on healing.
Many people who use digital planning tools say it brings them peace of mind as well. Knowing that things are in order allows you to live more fully in the present.
Legacy Is More Than Assets
Exit Life Ready has the ability to have your legacy video recorded, to upload your family recipes and photos. However, our legacy goes beyond, it can include not only physical assets but also our stories, and wisdom to help guide future generations. In today’s digital world and with the digital vault app, it is easier than ever to record, preserve, update and share your insights.
Planning ahead gives you the opportunity to speak in your own voice, on your own terms, even when you are no longer physically present. This often has a comforting effect on those that are left behind.
To start your digital death planning, simply download the EXIT Life Ready App, available on iOS and Android.
