Settling an estate is already a lot to carry. Now there’s another layer most families never expected: the email accounts, photos, online banking, and social media profiles a loved one leaves behind. Digital estate planning is the part of estate work that deals with all of it, and for executors in Ontario, it can be confusing and emotional at the same time.
If you’re managing an estate, you don’t have to figure this out alone. This guide walks you through what digital estate planning means, what counts as a digital asset, and the steps that help you handle online accounts with care and confidence.
What Digital Estate Planning Means for Executors
Digital estate planning is the process of locating, organizing, and dealing with a person’s online accounts and digital property after they pass away. For an executor, it sits right beside the physical work of clearing a home and selling property. The difference is that you can’t see digital assets, so they’re easy to miss.
Estate planning for digital assets matters more every year. Most people now bank, shop, store photos, and keep important documents online. When someone dies without leaving instructions, those accounts can sit locked, unpaid, or lost. Part of your job as an executor is making sure nothing valuable, financial or sentimental, slips through the cracks.
The emotional weight here is real. A parent’s photo library or final emails can mean as much to a family as any heirloom. Treating the digital side with the same care as the physical estate is part of doing right by them.
What Counts as a Digital Asset
A digital asset is anything stored or accessed electronically that holds value, whether that value is financial or personal. Some assets carry money. Others carry memories. Both deserve attention.
| Category | Examples | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Financial | Online banking, investment apps, PayPal, cryptocurrency wallets | Can hold real money the estate must account for |
| Accounts with value | Loyalty points, air miles, gift card balances, domain names | May be transferable or have cash value |
| Sentimental | Photos, videos, email, messages, social media profiles | Often the most meaningful to the family |
| Subscriptions | Streaming services, software, cloud storage, memberships | Keep charging until they’re cancelled |
| Devices | Phones, laptops, tablets, external drives | The keys to almost everything above |
When you’re settling an estate, financial digital assets need to be reported and handled like any other estate property. Sentimental ones may not have a dollar value, but they often matter most to the people you’re helping.
The Legal Side: What Executors Can and Cannot Access in Ontario
This is where digital estate planning gets tricky, so it’s worth slowing down.
In Ontario, an executor doesn’t automatically get access to a deceased person’s online accounts, even with a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee in hand. Two things complicate access.
First, Ontario has no specific legislation granting executors rights over digital assets. Some other provinces have passed laws to address this gap, but Ontario isn’t one of them. Second, federal privacy law (PIPEDA) protects personal information even after death, and most major platforms like Google, Apple, and Meta operate under their own terms of service that can override an executor’s legal authority, regardless of what the will says.
In practice, some accounts can be closed or memorialized with a death certificate and proof of executor status. Others require a formal court order, and that process takes time and money. Banking institutions follow a clearer process once probate is granted. For everything else, the rules vary by platform, and getting legal advice early is worth it.
Gordons isn’t a legal service, but our probate support can help you understand where the digital pieces fit into the wider estate process.
How to Build a Digital Asset Inventory
The single most useful step in estate planning for digital assets is making a list. A clear inventory turns a guessing game into a checklist you can actually work through.
- Check the obvious devices first. Phones, laptops, and tablets are the gateway to most accounts. Look for a password manager or a saved list of logins.
- Review paper and email trails. Bank statements, bills, and subscription receipts point you to accounts you’d otherwise never find.
- List financial accounts separately. These affect the estate’s value and need to be reported, so keep them apart from sentimental accounts.
- Note what should be closed or kept. Decide which accounts to cancel, memorialize, or preserve for the family.
- Store everything securely. Keep logins and instructions in one safe place, never lose in an email or on a sticky note.
If you’re managing this from another city, which many executors are, a written inventory is even more valuable. It lets you track progress without being in the home every day.
Where Digital Estate Planning Fits in the Bigger Picture
For most executors, the digital estate is one task among many. There’s a home to clear, contents to sort, and property to sell, often while you’re grieving and working against deadlines. The good news is that the digital side rarely needs to come first, and it doesn’t have to be done in isolation.
This is where having everything under one roof helps. When the same team handles real estate, contents, and logistics, the digital pieces slot into a plan instead of becoming one more thing to juggle alone. Our executor’s roadmap lays out the full sequence so you can see where each task belongs, and our estate settlement service coordinates the moving parts for you.
If part of the estate includes a home that’s now sitting empty, our vacant home management keeps the property secure while you work through the rest. The aim is simple: fewer vendors, less stress, and a clear path forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is digital estate planning?
Digital estate planning is the process of organizing and managing a person’s online accounts and digital property so they can be handled properly after death. It covers financial accounts, photos, email, social media, and subscriptions. For executors, it means finding these assets, deciding what to do with each one, and keeping a secure record along the way.
What happens to online accounts when someone dies?
It depends on the platform and whether instructions were left behind. Some services let an executor or next of kin close or memorialize an account with proof of death, while others restrict access entirely. Accounts that aren’t addressed can stay active and, in the case of subscriptions, keep charging the estate.
Can an executor access a deceased person’s email and social media in Ontario?
Not automatically. Privacy laws and platform terms-of-service rules often limit an executor’s access, even with legal authority, and a court order is sometimes required. Each company has its own process, so it’s best to check the platform’s policy and speak with an estate lawyer when access is unclear.
Should I appoint a digital executor?
You can, though it’s optional. A digital executor is a person you trust to carry out your wishes for your online accounts, and naming one in your will can make things clearer. If your main executor is comfortable handling digital assets, a separate appointment may not be needed.
What digital assets have financial value?
Online banking, investment accounts, digital wallets, and cryptocurrency clearly hold money, and loyalty points, air miles, or domain names can carry value too. These should be reported and handled like any other estate property. Sentimental assets such as photos and email don’t have a dollar value but often matter most to the family.
What happens to cryptocurrency when someone dies in Ontario?
Cryptocurrency is handled differently from other accounts because there’s no institution to contact. If the executor doesn’t have the private key or seed phrase, the assets are permanently inaccessible; no court order or platform appeal can retrieve them. If the estate may include crypto, make locating the wallet credentials a priority early in the process, and speak with an estate lawyer or financial professional about reporting requirements under the CRA.
Should I list passwords in the will?
No. A will becomes a public document once probate is granted, which means any passwords or account credentials listed in it would be accessible to anyone. The right approach is a separate, secure digital asset inventory, stored somewhere the executor can access it, but that isn’t attached to the will itself.
Moving Forward With Less to Carry
Digital estate planning is one more piece of a job that already asks a lot of you. You don’t need to know every step right now, just the first one. Managing an estate is a lot to carry. Gordons coordinates everything, real estate, contents, and logistics, so you don’t have to do it alone. Book a free consultation.
If you want to go deeper on the digital side specifically, our guide to protecting and managing digital assets for seniors and executors walks through the practical steps in more detail.
