Compiled and designed by Mark Fullbright , Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist™ (CITRMS) as a free service for consumers to protect themselves online and reduce their exposure to identity theft and from online websites that store and sell our information. Stay Safe, Stay Secure *Company names mentioned herein are the property of, and may be trademarks of, their respective owners and are for educational purposes only.

1. DIGITAL ASSETS

2. Gmail
• If you have a Gmail account and you pass away, your next of kin will be
allowed to access your emails. The account will stay open forever, but as
the next of kin, you are able to request it to be deleted. To get access to
the email account, you will need to supply the following information by fax
or mail to Google to be granted account access of the deceased user
account.
• Your full name , your contact information and a verifiable email address
• The Gmail email address of the deceased person
• An email containing the full headers of an email message that the deceased
person has emailed you with the entire contents of the email
• Proof of death
• Documentation to prove that you are the lawfully allowed to access their email
(if the deceased is over 18). If deceased person is under 18 of age, you must
provide a birth certificate
• After you’ve compiled the information, Google will verify it and grant you
access to the user account.
• If you are trying to access a deceased person’s email account, you may
first want to try to reset the user’s password.

3. Google
• Inactive Account Manager is a way for users to share parts of
their account data or notify someone if they’ve been inactive for
a certain period of time. To set up Inactive Account Manager,
go to www.google.com/settings and click on the setup link
under Account Management.
• https://www.google.com/settings/u/0/account/inactive

4. Hotmail
• If Hotmail accounts are left inactive for a period of time, the email account will be
eventually deleted (within the year) and therefore, you will not be able to access it. If
you die, your next of kin will be granted access to your account provided they supply
supporting documents such as a death certificate (similar to what Google needs).
• Hotmail will not reset the password for the deceased person, but you have to fax or mail
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information to gain access to the account such as:
Your email address
Your shipping address (as they send you a package in the mail
Documents to state your are the benefactor or you have power of attorney
Your photocopied driver’s license
A photocopy of the death certificate
Information about the account holder such as first and last name, date of birth, city, state, zip,
approximate date of the account creation and the approximate date of last sign in.
• Send an email message to "msrecord@Microsoft.com" and request that Microsoft
preserve the account. Microsoft will automatically preserve the Hotmail account for six
months.

5. Yahoo
• Yahoo has a much stricter policy over who can get access to your
account. And that is no one.
• The Yahoo terms of service, for example, say that "any rights to your
Yahoo! ID or contents within your account terminate upon your death,"
and accounts may be deleted if a death certificate is submitted.
• Yahoo will not grant permission to anyone to access a deceased
user’s account.
• The only permission Yahoo grants is for the account to be deleted.
Therefore, Yahoo does not allow anyone to access your emails.
• The only way someone can do this is if they reset your account
password.

6. Facebook
• Their page can be turned into a memorial page if requested.
• By filling out the form to turn an deceased users page into a memorial
page, Facebook will remove sensitive information on the account like
status updates and will only allow current friends to access the page.
• Family members will then be allowed to customize the page of the
deceased user.
• https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/305593649477238

7. Facebook

8. MySpace
• MySpace deceased user policy is a bit vague, but they state that if
you are the next of kin, they will not grant you access to edit, or delete
any of the content or settings on the account yourself, but you can
request it to be removed if you deem appropriate.
• You can simply email accountcare@support.myspace.com and attach
appropriate documentation such as a death certificate.
• However, if you have access to their email account, MySpace
recommends that you reset the user password.

9. MySpace

10. PayPal
• PayPal has specific procedures to delete an account of a
deceased user as well as notify the company of a user
death. If you already have the login ID and password, you
can delete the account yourself; otherwise you need to
call the company directly.
• To close the account of someone who died, the estate
executor needs to fax the following to (402) 537-5732:
• A cover sheet that states the account holder is deceased and the
executor wants to close the PayPal account
• A copy of the death certificate for the account holder
• A copy of the deceased account holders will or legal documentation
that provides the information regarding the executor
• A copy of a photo ID of the executor

11. PayPal
• The documentation will be reviewed and, if approved, the account will be
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closed. If there are funds in the PayPal account, a check will be issued in
the account holder’s name.
*Note: Following this procedure will enable PayPal to close the account,
not grant access to the account by giving a login ID and password.
If you do not have a password, and need access to the account, you will
need to contact Customer Service for assistance:
1-888-221-1161 or 1-402-935-2050
4:00 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST Monday-Friday
6:00 AM PST to 8:00PM PST Saturday and Sunday
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• PayPal does currently have a procedure to follow concerning closing an
account of a deceased user and notifying the company. This procedure,
however, does not allow you to access the account. If you would like to
gain access to the user’s account you must call PayPal Customer
Service at 1-888-221-1161 or 1-402-935-2050. If you need access to a
deceased person’s PayPal account and want to close it.

12. LinkedIn
• PowerForm Signer Information
• https://www.docusign.net/MEMBER/PowerFormSigning.a
spx?PowerFormId=91e28b6c-bc93-47ed-8d1e1f81083529d6
• Please complete the Verification of Death Form and it will
be sent thru DocuSign to LinkedIn. 3-47ed-8d1e1f81083529d6

13. Twitter
• In the event of the death of a Twitter user, they will work with a person authorized to act
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on the behalf of the estate or with a verified immediate family member of the deceased
to have an account deactivated.
Provide the username of the deceased user's Twitter account (e.g., @username or
twitter.com/username)
A copy of the deceased user’s death certificate
A copy of your government-issued ID (e.g., driver’s license)
A signed statement including:
• Your first and last name
• Your email address
• Your current contact information
• Your relationship to the deceased user or their estate
• Action requested (e.g., ‘please deactivate the Twitter account’)
• A brief description of the details that evidence this account belongs to the
deceased, if the name on the account does not match the name on death certificate.
• A link to an online obituary or a copy of the obituary from a local newspaper
(optional)

14. Twitter
• Please send the documentation by fax or mail to the following
address:
• Twitter, Inc.
c/o: Trust & Safety
1355 Market St., Suite 900
San Francisco, CA 94103
Fax : 1-415-865-5405
• Note: This is a United States number, so please be sure to include the
appropriate international dialing code if you're sending from outside
the United States.
• We conduct all of our communication via email; should we require any
other information, we will contact you at the email address you have
provided in your request. If you have any questions, you can contact
us at: privacy@twitter.com.
Please note: We are unable to provide account access to anyone
regardless of his or her relationship to the deceased.

15. Conclusion
Each online service provider has its own terms of service
• Upon your passing your accounts will most likely stay active unless
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the site automatically deletes the account due to inactivity, or your
family has requested the account to be closed.
Most sites allow access to your personal data by your next of kin, but
to gain this right, they will need to mail proof to the website.
Ideally having a backup file with websites, user name/passwords
available to loved ones would be the best idea, if you want them to
have access to your accounts. These accounts may just be limited to
financial accounts (bank, investments, 401s etc.) or all your social
media accounts.
Keep in mind a library of digital music or an Internet domain name
that you own may have financial value that's significant to your estate.
Understanding the difference between ‘accounts & assets’ will help
separate which accounts you want closed and which ones you want
to pass to loved ones.

16. Digital Assets
• The term “digital assets” means, but is not limited to, files,
emails, documents, images, audio, video, and similar
digital files which currently exists or may exist as
technology develops or such comparable items as
technology develops, stored on digital devices, including,
desktops, laptops, tablets, peripherals, storage devices,
mobile telephones, smartphones, and any similar digital
device which currently exists or may exist as technology
develops or such comparable items as technology
develops, regardless of the ownership of the physical
device upon which the digital asset is stored.

17. Digital Accounts
• The term “digital accounts” means, but is not limited to,
email accounts, software licenses, social network
accounts, social media accounts, file sharing accounts,
financial management accounts, domain registration
accounts, domain name service accounts, web hosting
accounts, tax preparation service accounts, online stores,
affiliate programs, other online accounts which currently
exist or may exist as technology develops or such
comparable items as technology develops.

18. Laws
• Federal laws present another hurdle. If you use password to log on to
a deceased persons account, you may violate not only the provider's
terms of service but also the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act,
which governs certain unauthorized access to computers.
• The federal privacy law, Stored Communications Act, can limit
providers' ability to share deceased users' account contents with
relatives.
• Most states rely on the particular terms of service or privacy policy of
the service that manages the asset (such as Gmail, Facebook, or
Tumblr) to determine what should be done with the particular asset
when the owner dies.
• Consult a licensed estate attorney in your state for the best advice.

19. Compiled and designed by Mark Fullbright , Certified Identity Theft
Risk Management Specialist™ (CITRMS) as a free service for
consumers to protect themselves online and reduce their exposure to
identity theft.
Stay Safe, Stay Secure
COMPANY NAMES MENTIONED HEREIN ARE THE PROPERTY OF AND MAY BE TRADEMARKS OF
,
,
THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS AND ARE FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.