A
few months ago, following
the death of my father, I took
a phone call from a friend
asking for some advice. Her friend’
s
son had recently died
tragically, and the
family was unable to
unlock his smartphone
to view the final pho-
tos he took while on
vacation out of the
country. I explained I
was also in the process
of trying to take care of a loved one’
s
technology after death and was able
to provide some advice.
The experience of sorting out a
deceased loved one’
s technology is
complicated. However, I found it
also to be a rewarding experience.
Although my father died more than
three months ago, I’
m still work-
ing on closing out his many online
accounts, organizing his photos, and
determining which files to save and
which to delete. I’
ve learned a lot
performing these tasks and thought
it would be helpful to share some tips
so others can be prepared when the
time comes.
THE DIGITAL EXECUTOR
I confess I was not familiar with the
term “digital executor” until I looked
at my father’
s will. My brother and I
were named co-executors of his will,
but I was named solely as the digital
executor. In several paragraphs, it
laid out the responsibilities of the
digital executor, which included han-
dling all his digital property related
to his personal, financial and busi-
ness matters.
This designation gave me the
authority to freeze or close online
accounts with banks, email provid-
ers, social networking sites, data
storage and shopping sites. It also
outlined my tasks in managing his
digital data stored on local comput-
ers and in the cloud.
As digital executor, I was given
the ability to safely archive or delete
files, plan and execute a reasonable
security model for accessing those
archived digital files, and retrieve
any passwords needed to perform
the tasks outlined in the will. While I
didn’
t need to rely upon the author-
ity outlined in the will to handle any
of these tasks, it was reassuring I was
granted the legal right to do so, if
needed.
I would highly recommend assign-
ing a designated digital executor in
your will so your survivors are able
to manage your technology as simply
as possible. Applications are available
to help you plan a course of action
for managing your digital life after
your death.
DIGITAL PASSWORDS
The biggest technology-related has-
sle after a parent or other loved one
dies is gaining access to their online
accounts. Unless they left behind an
easy-to-find spreadsheet of all their
online accounts (email, financial,
shopping, media, travel, etc.) with
login credentials, this can become a
time-consuming endeavor.
I found the easiest way to access
passworded accounts was to simply
reset the password using a mobile
number to authenticate the account.
Obviously, this can only be done if
you still have access to the deceased’
s
mobile phone and number. It is,
therefore, a good idea to keep the
mobile account active for a cou-
ple of months following the death.
Without access to the mobile number
(or email account in some cases),
there are other ways to authenticate
accounts using the Social Security
number and death certificate.
NOTIFICATIONS
Gaining access to the deceased’
s con-
tact list is also an important task for
the survivor charged with managing
their technology. The contact list
might contain their digital accounts
Unlocking
Technology
Advice for “digital executors”
trying to gain access after
a loved one dies.
jews d
in
the
on the cover
Rabbi Jason
Miller
16 July 4 • 2019
jn