Death Prep 101: What to Do With Your Online Presence When You Die | brokeGIRLrich
A weird and interesting thing that this generation has to think about that others have not is what you want done with your online presence when you die.
Most of us, though not all, have some forms of social media from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram. In your death prep, have you considered what you want done with them? Just the other day, a friend and I were discussing how weird it is that some of our dead friends still have Facebook pages. A few month ago, a friend passed away and his family used his Facebook page to make that announcement and then pass on information about the wake and funeral. It was extremely effective. For about a week after he died, friends and family posted pictures and memories on his page.
It actually felt unsettling to me that his death sort of took over my Facebook feed and I wondered if it was helping or hurting his family. Considering everyone had nothing but good memories about him, I hope it was the equivalent of those books you sign at the funeral home – but considerably more personalized.
It made me wonder though how I would feel about that. I think if my family wanted to use it to convey the news I had passed away and funeral arrangements, that could be helpful for them – although there’s nothing weirder than a post “by” the dead person announcing their death appearing on your Facebook feed.
That being said, your family can only access those accounts – and have them frozen or preserved per your wishes – if you remember to include updated log in information in your death paperwork.
By now, you should have a will and power of attorney drawn up and filed away somewhere that your next of kin know about, along with any funeral wishes you have (have you considered going green?).
If you’re a blogger, you’re now in an even more interesting position. Think back to when you first heard about blogs – odds are that your family doesn’t even realize they now have an asset on their hands.
If the blog is already profitable, it may be worth it to hire staff writers and continue with the blog, if you have a family member who understands anything about blogging. If you do have a blog in this category, you may want to sit down with a chosen family member or friend and explain a little about how it works and see if they have any interest in continuing it upon your death. This will give you a chance to discuss your vision for the site, explain a little bit about how blogging works or how to hire freelance writers. If you have an interested person, but they think the conversation is a little morbid, you can let them know that you’ll leave detailed instructions in your paperwork about how to run your blog upon your death for them.
These papers should include all log in information – your host, your blogging platform and any other services you use regularly, including things you’ve paid for link inlinkz, Spam blockers, mailing services, etc. You should also note when any paid subscriptions will expire and the cost to renew them, should your beneficiary decide to continue with the blog.
You should also make it very clear that a well established blog is an asset and should be treated as such. If you make real income from your blog, even with no one in your real life interested in continuing it upon your death, it can be sold within the blogging community to someone who is interested. You should detail the steps that your beneficiary can take in that direction as well with your other death paperwork.
I have been thinking about some of these things as of late, but I definitely haven’t thought to mentally classify them as an asset. My spouse and my accountant obviously know they produce revenues, but wouldn’t know where to start with continuing them on. You’ve given me a lot to think about. The question is, will I do anything about it?
Anne @ Money Propeller recently posted…Save Money with a Morning Wedding
I have not, but certainly something you need to consider. So many online accounts to manage. At a minimum I think leaving a list with passwords for someone to update or close would be the least you could do.
Brian @ Debt Discipline recently posted…Holiday Traditions
Wow! I have never thought about this, but it’s a great point to bring up. For me, I don’t make money off my blog, it’s only part of my personal brand and if I go, so does my brand, but I can see how this would lead to bigger issues for other bloggers.
I was just taking to someone last night about families posting funeral details on Facebook via the deceased parson’s account. It was incredibly effective albeit morbid like you said. Great topic.
A girl I knew recently passed away in a car crash. Her mother got on and changed her profile pic to her tombstone. I’m sure the mom had good intentions but it was a shock to see.
Will recently posted…How to Use Investing to Pacify Your Desire to Spend
I bet. That is pretty morbid. Although anytime a picture of a dead friend pops up on social media it feels very odd.
I agree it can freak you out when family members change things. We all kept getting game requests that a friend had posted before she died. FB then figured,”Since we have your attention, how about playing some Candy Crush?”
It was weird.
Interesting. Having someone with access to all my passwords is probably a good place to start.
Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life recently posted…The Danger In Assuming Future Income Increases
Very interesting topic and admittedly not something I’ve ever considered before. But, you make great points since so much of our lives are online now. I wonder if a sort of “best practices” will evolve over time as we, as a society, cope with more deaths in this digital world.
Mrs. Frugalwoods recently posted…How A Soviet Tank Piston Became A Christmas Gift
I’m not sure what blogging or site will even look like by the time I get there. Not sure once I get financially secure that I’ll keep up with what I am doing. I wish I could know the date so I could get a bunch of posts already written and just have things continue posting posthumously. Of course my blog is no where near an asset at this point. Interesting thought and subject.
Lance @ Healthy Wealthy Income recently posted…Dear Frugal People, You Aren’t Wanted Anymore
Great post Mel. This is one of the reasons why DH and I kept a list of usernames and passwords stored off-line. In the event one of us dies, the other can shut down online accounts. When the other dies, it will be with the will along with instructions for the executor to do the same. If both of us die at the same time, same thing, the executor will know what to do.
Kassandra recently posted…Are You Keeping A Secret?
Definitely one of the more thought provoking posts that I’ve read lately. I hadn’t even considered social media and when my time is up. Time to talk to my wife…
1MansMoney recently posted…NOT Included In Our Net Worth…Darn It!
Oh my gosh, I never really thought of it too much, but this is so important. I don’t think anyone would want to continue my blog, since none of my family is very interested in both tech + finance, but it would be great to let them know that Will (First Quarter Finance shout out) might want to buy my blog for $1… lol 🙂
In all seriousness, I know who I would give access to my accounts – my cousin who’s like a sister. She’s tech savvy and, most importantly, she would be strong enough to post coherent info about my passing on Facebook. Don’t forget to choose someone who could handle that, too. I know my Mom would be in terrible shape to do any of that if I passed, as would my bf.
Very good info – I should probably draft up all my info for my cousin!
Okay..1st – that image LOL! Yes, this is such a needed topic. It’s come up before in a group and I still have not given it much thought. Maybe as I put together my blog business plan I should include some thoughts on how to handle the community in the case of my demise. Tough topic, but necessary.
Toni @ Debt Free Divas recently posted…Dumping Debt As a Family @ Enchanted Homeschooling Mom
We had a family member pass away with a facebook page actually a couple. It took awhile before they found the password for one. Her birthday came and people were wishing her Happy Birthday without even looking down the posts on her page. So sad for us. I hope it’s not needed for awhile but it’s wrote down where they can find it if it is. Now the blog -not making any money yet!
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The key word is yet!
I specifically remember an article years ago about how Facebook was going to allow people to prove someone died (by sending in a newspaper article or other document) so that the deceased’s page would be memorialized. One reason they gave was that, in case the family didn’t know, for the deceased’s page to show up as if it were live and cause problems.
Is that not happening anymore? I can’t keep up with FB updates.
Emi recently posted…Saving International Money on the Autoimmune Protocol
It may be. I’ve definitely heard of memorializing pages. It’s probably easier for your family though if you leave a note telling them to do it.
Thank you for giving me something to really think about. I need to change the beneficiary on my life insurance policy as well now that I am thinking about it and maybe discussing what should happen if something bad happened to me. I don’t really have anything of value but I still have stuff and would need someone to make the proper arrangements for me if I should go early.
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Yeah, I’m really keen on the idea of putting together a death binder (eventually I’ll get around to writing that post), but I think it’s a great idea to just keep your will, copies of your life insurance, info on how to contact your credit card companies and any other debtors, and your final wishes all in one spot for your next of kin to access easily if necessary.
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