Digital cleanup should begin with preservation, not deletion. An email account may contain tax records, insurance messages, photos, domain renewals, and the recovery path for a dozen other services. Closing it first can make every later task harder.
Use provider legacy tools and lawful fiduciary procedures. Knowing a password does not automatically give a relative the legal right to impersonate the deceased or bypass platform access rules.
Protect the recovery accounts before cancelling the small subscriptions
Identify the primary email address, phone number, mobile carrier account, Apple or Google account, password manager, and any device that receives two-factor codes. Keep the phone line active long enough to understand what it authenticates, but do not send messages as though you are the deceased.
Photograph device model/serial information and keep chargers with the devices. A passcode-locked phone may contain data that a provider cannot decrypt for you. Avoid repeated password guesses that can trigger lockouts or erase settings.
Use the deceased user process built by each major provider
Apple's Digital Legacy program lets a designated Legacy Contact request access to certain account data using an access key and proof of death. Apple also explains that some categories—such as Keychain passwords and payment information—are not available through Legacy Contact access.
Google's Inactive Account Manager can pre-designate people to receive selected data. When no plan exists, Google has a deceased-user request process that can close an account or, in certain circumstances after review, provide content. Google states that it does not provide passwords or login details.
Those provider rules are more reliable than a generic instruction to 'log in and download everything.'
Make a preservation copy before requesting permanent deletion
A permanent deletion request can be irreversible. Google specifically warns that after an account is closed it cannot later process a request to turn over the contents. Make a written list of what the family or executor needs before choosing deletion.
Preservation also includes billing and ownership evidence. Download recent invoices, domain-registration records, cloud-storage receipts, and statements for paid digital services before closing the payment card that keeps them active. A small hosting or storage charge can be the only thing preventing a family photo archive, business domain, or tax-document folder from expiring while the executor is still deciding what should be retained.
| Account type | Preserve first | Then decide |
|---|---|---|
| Tax, banking, insurance, estate correspondence | Retain, memorialize, or close | |
| Cloud photos/files | Family photos, legal and business files | Download approved archive |
| Social media | Messages/photos needed by family | Memorialize or delete |
| Subscriptions | Invoice and renewal data | Cancel after dependencies checked |
| Domain / website | Registrar login, billing, business records | Transfer or shut down |
Crypto is an asset-access problem, not a customer-service password reset
Cryptocurrency held at a regulated exchange may have a deceased-customer estate process. Self-custodied cryptocurrency is different: control often depends on possession of a wallet’s private key or recovery phrase. A court order may establish authority or ownership, but it does not itself supply a missing cryptographic credential; preserve hardware wallets, backups, and recovery material before anyone moves assets.
Do not type a seed phrase into a website sent by a stranger who offers 'recovery.' Preserve hardware wallets, written recovery phrases, device backups, and transaction records securely. For a meaningful balance, use counsel and a technically qualified fiduciary adviser rather than moving coins experimentally.
Create an access register without copying secrets into the probate file
- Service name and purpose.
- Account email or username.
- Whether a Legacy Contact / Inactive Account Manager exists.
- What legal or provider request has been submitted.
- Which data was preserved and where the archive is stored.
- Whether billing was cancelled or ownership transferred.
- Do not record full passwords, seed phrases, or private keys in a widely shared executor spreadsheet.
Digital register: “Google account — primary recovery email for insurance + utility portals. Deceased-user data request pending. Do not close until Drive tax folder and Photos archive are resolved. Phone line retained temporarily for incoming verification only.”
Document access without turning passwords into estate records
Prioritize accounts that unlock other assets. The decedent's primary email, phone number, password manager, cloud drive, and two-factor-authentication devices can determine whether the family can find statements and policies. Preserve lawful access and data first; subscription cleanup can wait until the records needed for administration are secured.
Use provider death-request channels rather than pretending to be the decedent. Apple, Google, and other providers have their own legacy or deceased-user procedures, and state fiduciary-access law can affect what a representative may receive. A password that technically works does not answer whether the person using it has legal authority to access private communications.
Track the provider, account identifier, why the account matters, the legal authority used, request status, data recovered, and final closure decision. Store sensitive credentials or recovery keys in an appropriate secure system rather than copying them into a general probate spreadsheet that may later be shared with beneficiaries or filed with a court.
Use a two-column rule for digital accounts: preserve what has estate value or evidentiary value, and close what is merely consuming money only after recovery dependencies are mapped. An email inbox may unlock tax records, cloud photos, or financial accounts even when the inbox itself has no financial value. Before requesting deletion, note recovery email addresses, phone numbers, devices, and legacy-contact settings. Do not bypass platform access controls; use the provider's deceased-user process and obtain legal authority where the provider requires it.
Before deleting, resetting, or unlocking
Can Apple give a family member the deceased person’s password?
Apple’s published process focuses on Legacy Contact or legal-document access to eligible account data, not disclosure of the deceased person’s password. Certain encrypted data, including Keychain passwords and passkeys, is not available to a Legacy Contact.
Can Google provide a deceased user’s account contents?
Google says it can work with immediate family members and representatives and, in certain circumstances after review, provide content. It does not provide passwords or login credentials. Its Inactive Account Manager is the preferred pre-death planning tool.
Should I cancel the deceased person’s phone line immediately?
Usually inventory its dependencies first. The number may be tied to two-factor authentication, account recovery, or business contacts. Keep billing controlled and ask the carrier about an estate transfer or cancellation after critical account access has been resolved.
Can a court order recover a lost crypto seed phrase?
A court order may establish authority or ownership, but it does not itself reconstruct a missing private key or recovery phrase. Practical recovery depends on the wallet design, custody arrangement, available backups, and qualified technical help. Do not give recovery credentials to an unverified service.