G-04 · Free DownloadDigital estate planning · England & Wales

Blank Digital Estate Inventory

A complete printable inventory for every digital account you hold — social media, email, cloud storage, crypto, and domains — with a disposition for each, and your legacy contact setup in one place.

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PDF · No account required · Starting point only — not legal advice

Planning guidance only. This inventory records your intentions and access routing. Legal authority over digital accounts after death is governed by each platform's terms of service and UK estate law — the inventory does not itself transfer legal access to any account.

Crypto seed phrases and passwords should never be written in this document; record where they are kept, not what they are.

§1

Why a digital estate needs documenting

A digital estate is often larger than a physical one — and considerably harder to administer without a map. Accounts accumulate over decades; access routes change; platforms with no bereavement process simply delete what is inside them. Four problems make this worse without a written record.

Accounts aren't findable

The average UK adult has over 90 online accounts. Without a record, an executor cannot know what exists — and cannot close, transfer, or memoralise what they cannot find.

Platform rules vary radically

Some platforms delete accounts after 30 days of inactivity. Some require a court order to disclose data to family. Some have dedicated legacy contact systems that make it straightforward. Without knowing which platform does which, family members lose access to irreplaceable photographs, messages, and memories.

Digital assets have real financial value

Cryptocurrency wallets, domain names, digital businesses, creator monetisation accounts, and subscription credits all have financial value that falls out of the estate if undocumented. Unlike a bank balance, these do not surface automatically in the probate process.

The access route is not the account

Even if a trusted person knows a password, 2FA authentication sent to a phone only you carry can make it impossible to log in. The inventory records both the account and the access infrastructure — password manager, recovery email, authenticator app — so the trusted person has a workable route in. If no one holds that role for you yet, naming a Trusted Person takes about ten minutes, guided.

§2

The access gap — why passwords alone are not enough

Most people assume that if a trusted person has the password, they can access the account. In practice, two barriers make this unreliable.

Two-factor authentication

A one-time code sent to a phone only you carry can make it impossible to log in, even with the correct password. If the authenticator app is on a locked phone and there are no backup codes, the account may be inaccessible permanently.

Platform terms of service

Most platforms prohibit sharing credentials. Even where an executor has legal authority over the estate, this does not automatically grant them access to an account governed by US or EU terms — they must follow the platform's own bereavement or legal request process.

The inventory addresses both: Section I records the password manager, backup codes, and authenticator app, so a trusted person has a workable access route. Sections II–III record each account and the platform-specific process for handling it after death.

§3

What the inventory covers

Four sections, designed to be completed in one sitting and reviewed annually.

Access infrastructure

The foundation. Password manager name and where the emergency kit lives. Recovery phone and SIM provider. Two-factor authentication type and backup code location. These unlock everything else.

Accounts by category

Social media, email, cloud storage and photos, digital financial platforms (including crypto), domain names, and professional accounts. Each entry captures platform, username, access route, and a disposition choice: preserve / transfer / delete / download / memorialise.

Legacy contact setup

Facebook, Google, and Apple all have formal legacy contact or inactive account manager programmes. The inventory prompts you to nominate contacts and records whether each is set up, alongside other platforms with bespoke bereavement processes.

Annual review

A simple dated review table. A digital estate changes faster than a physical one — new accounts open, old ones close, passwords change, recovery contacts move. Review once a year alongside your will and financial accounts.

§4

Platform legacy contacts and memorialisation

Several major platforms allow you to nominate a person — in advance — who can manage your account after your death.

Set these up before they are needed; activating them after a death is more cumbersome. The inventory reminds you of each option and records whether you have set it up.

Facebook / Meta

Legacy Contact (Settings → Memorialisation) — can pin a final post, update the profile photo, and respond to friend requests. Cannot read private messages.

Google

Inactive Account Manager (myaccount.google.com) — nominate up to 10 trusted contacts to be notified and potentially receive data after a defined period of inactivity.

Apple

Digital Legacy (iOS 15.2+ / macOS Monterey) — generate an access key for a nominated person. They present the key with a death certificate to access iCloud data for up to three years.

No legacy contact. Family can submit a bereavement request with death certificate to memorialise or remove the profile.

Twitter / X

Accepts requests to deactivate a deceased person's account with a death certificate. No memorialisation mode.

Instagram

Accepts memorialisation requests and removal requests from immediate family with verified relationship proof.

§5

Download the inventory

FreeA4 PDFEngland & WalesEdition 2026

Digital Estate Inventory

Four-section printable form. Access infrastructure, accounts by category, legacy contact setup, and annual review. Copper-rule institutional aesthetic. A4 print-ready.

Download — Digital Estate Inventory (PDF)

Starting point only. Not legal advice. Do not write passwords or seed phrases in this document.

§6

Go further — the maintained digital record

The printed form is a starting point. The Digital Legacy Registry in the Valoren portal is the same inventory maintained, searchable, and wired into everything else in your estate record.

This PDF

Print once; update by hand

Stored wherever you keep it

Complete when it suits you

Starting point — not connected

The portal version

Updates as accounts change

Cross-referenced with your trusted persons

Surfaces in executor's briefing output

Connects to the rest of the estate record

Start your estate record Signum — done for you

§7

Questions, answered plainly

Yes, if you follow the guidance in Section I: record the location of the password manager and access routes — not the passwords themselves.

The inventory tells your trusted person where the keys are; the keys stay locked away in the password manager or sealed envelope. A trusted person who finds this document can reach the right accounts; a stranger who finds it sees only the routing information, not the credentials.

If no one has the seed phrase or private key, the wallet is permanently inaccessible. The cryptocurrency in it is not lost in the sense of being transferred — it sits on the blockchain indefinitely — but no one can ever spend it, move it, or recover it.

The seed phrase (typically 12 or 24 words) should be written on paper and stored physically in a known location, with this inventory recording that it exists and where to look. Not the phrase itself — just the location.

No. Legal authority over accounts after death depends on platform terms of service, the grant of probate, and whether a legacy contact is nominated within the platform.

This inventory records your intentions and tells your trusted person what exists — it does not itself transfer legal access. The executor uses the inventory to locate and contact each platform, following that platform's own bereavement or legal request process.

Cancel active subscriptions as early as possible after death; they are recurring charges on an estate.

The executor will need bank statements and card numbers to identify all active subscriptions — a second reason to record card details and banking apps in this inventory under financial platforms. Streaming and software subscriptions have no transferable value in UK law; the account is simply closed.

This printed form is a starting point — a fillable register you can complete on paper.

The portal version is the maintained, searchable one: the same five fields (asset / platform / category / disposition / custodian) but updated as accounts change, cross-referenced with your nominated trusted person, and surfaced in the executor briefing output. The paper form and the portal record are complementary; if you maintain both, the portal copy is the one your executor sees on day one.

Yes — or in the same location. The two documents work together: the will names the executor; this inventory tells the executor what digital accounts exist and what to do with each.

If your will is with a solicitor, keep a copy of the inventory with your trusted person and update the section in the will (or a letter of wishes attached to the will) to reference its location.

Take it with you

Take the digital estate inventory with you.

We'll email you the digital estate inventory as a PDF — for when you're at a printer, or to pass to the person who'll need it. The download above stays free either way.

Working for a hospice, charity, council or carers' service? You're welcome to link the inventory, print it, or put it in a bereavement pack — free, no permission needed, nothing expected in return. See everything that's free

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