Foundations of Digital Legacy Planning

Most adults now carry a substantial digital footprint: email, photos, financial accounts, social media, cloud storage, subscriptions, and sometimes cryptocurrency or digital assets with real value. Without planning, much of this becomes locked, lost, or exposed after death. This foundational course explains the landscape so you can plan thoughtfully. By the end of this course you will be able to describe the categories of your digital footprint, explain how major platforms handle accounts after death, distinguish digital assets that have monetary value from those that have sentimental value, and understand the legal frameworks that govern access. What you will learn: - The main categories of digital footprint: communications, finances, media, identities, devices, and digital assets with value - How major platforms handle memorialization, deletion, and legacy contacts - The role of state laws such as RUFADAA and the differences in proxy access across providers - The difference between account access and asset transfer for cryptocurrency and digital wallets - How devices, password managers, and two-factor authentication complicate or enable access - The role of a digital executor in your overall estate plan - Common pitfalls: leaving everything to memory, sharing passwords informally, ignoring two-factor recovery, treating digital assets as out of scope The course uses readings, platform-by-platform breakdowns, and reflection prompts. Each module ends with a checklist that you apply to your own digital life. This course is written for adults who want to plan responsibly for their digital footprint and for those handling a deceased family member's accounts. By the end you will have replaced a vague sense that this should be planned with a clear map of what you have, how it is governed, and what steps actually shape what happens to it.