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I would really like not to have written this text, but I have recently become aware, particularly regrettably, that death in the modern era can have complex and difficult technical consequences. You should make a will, of course. Of course, you should make a will. But many wills dictate only the disposition of your assets. What will happen to other digital aspects of your life after you leave?
There are several good guides on "digital wills" and one for "digital heritage", including for example managing your Facebook and Google accounts, and I encourage you to visit these links and to deepen your research. Some things seem particularly noteworthy, though.
The first is that this is another reason to use a password manager such as LastPass or 1Password. This in turn becomes a detailed list of your online accounts and comes with an integrated recovery mechanism that can be used to pass them on to your survivors and / or your heirs. LastPass (my choice password manager) actually offers a detailed guide on "preparing a digital will for your passwords," as well as third-party guides on using 1Password for this purpose.
Another problem is that of two-factor authentication. What happens in case of an accident that also destroys your phone or your Yubikey? Or if your heirs can not exceed your phone password? Do yourself a favor and create them: create 2FA backup codes and add them to your password manager recovery kit.
The more technical you are, the more complex your digital business is. For most people, we only talk about email, social media, and photos. But for technicians, and especially for developers, things get complicated. Do you own domains? Do your heirs even know that you own estates and who is the registrar? Are they technical? Otherwise, by the time they understand this, the domains may have expired. Do you have services running on AWS, GCP or Digital Ocean? Do you have private GitHub repositories, or public repositories with a not insignificant number of stars / forks / issues / wiki pages? Do you administer a Slack workspace?
If you bow your head to the above, you can identify a separate "technical performer" and give him guidance on what you want to do with all of the above. Even if they have access, non-technicians may not really understand these tips. A little work in advance can greatly facilitate the task of those who take care of your business.
Finally, what about cryptocurrencies that you could own personally? Typically, cryptocurrency wallets come with some sort of salvage seed. Is yours in a safe somewhere? Make your heirs know it's somewhere in a safe? If you want to send them your bitcoins, you will probably have to inform them. (Of course, there is a trade-off between safety and security, and depending on the amount we're talking about, you may want to be more or less cautious about it.)
So, to sum up: Do additional research on digital wills and build one. Use a password manager, which acts as an enumeration of your online accounts, and make sure your heirs can access its emergency recovery key. Also provide 2FA backup codes and recovery sprouts for your cryptocurrency portfolios, if applicable. Identify a technical performer, if any. Plus, and it's a good key, make sure some trusted people know you've done all this. Do not do them much better.
You may even have the opportunity to thank you, in case of loss of equipment or disaster. No matter, your heirs will certainly thank you. None of us think that his disappearance will happen randomly, without warning – but I am here to tell you that, in the light of the recent dark experience, this is happening. Be ready.
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