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