Digital Legacy Planning: Setting Up Legacy Contacts in Advance
Reviewed by Everendium Editorial Team · Last reviewed August 18, 2026
Quick answer
Major platforms (Google, Apple, Facebook) let you designate a legacy contact or set specific instructions in advance for what should happen to your account after death — doing this ahead of time is far easier for your family than navigating each platform's after-the-fact request process.
Setting up digital legacy options in advance is one of the more overlooked parts of planning ahead — and one of the easiest to actually do.
Why plan this in advance
Without any advance setup, family members often have to navigate each platform’s after-the-fact request process — providing a death certificate, sometimes a court order, and waiting through an unfamiliar bureaucratic process. Setting up legacy features in advance sidesteps most of that.
Platform-specific features
- Apple offers a Digital Legacy program, letting you designate a legacy contact who can access your account with a specific access key after your death
- Google has an Inactive Account Manager, letting you specify what happens to your data (and who’s notified) if your account becomes inactive for a set period
- Facebook allows designating a legacy contact specifically for managing a memorialized profile
Not every platform has an equivalent feature — check the settings of accounts that matter most to you.
Naming a digital executor
Some people specifically name a digital executor — someone responsible for handling digital accounts and assets — separate from their general estate executor. This isn’t legally required in most places, but can be written into your own planning documents for clarity, especially if your general executor isn’t especially tech-comfortable.
What to actually write down
Avoid writing passwords directly into an unsecured document. Instead, note which accounts exist and where to find access — for example, noting that you use a specific password manager, rather than listing every password directly. Our Final Day Plan has a section specifically for this kind of information.
Platform features and policies change over time — check each platform’s current settings directly rather than relying solely on this summary.
Frequently asked questions
What is a legacy contact?+
A person you designate in advance, through a platform's own settings, who gains specific access to your account (or is notified) after your death — set up before it's needed, rather than requiring your family to prove authorization afterward.
Does every platform offer this?+
Not all — Apple and Google both have specific features for this (Digital Legacy and Inactive Account Manager, respectively), and Facebook allows designating a legacy contact for memorialization. Not every platform has an equivalent option, so check each one you use.
What is a 'digital executor'?+
Someone specifically designated to handle digital accounts and assets after death, sometimes named separately from your general estate executor — this isn't legally required everywhere, but can be written into your planning documents for clarity.
Where should I write down all my account information?+
Avoid writing passwords directly in an unsecured document. Instead, note which accounts exist and where to find access (a password manager, for instance) — our Final Day Plan has a section specifically for this kind of "where to look" information.
Sources
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