Should you name a digital executor for your online accounts? (UK)
18 August 2026 · Inherit Vault
It's become a popular thing to put in a will: a named digital executor, the tech-literate niece who'll handle the accounts. It's a sensible instinct. It's also, in England and Wales, a job title with no legal standing whatsoever.
Only executors have authority, and there's just one kind
The people with legal power over an estate are the executors named in the will, or the administrators appointed under the intestacy rules. Writing "digital executor" next to someone's name doesn't create a new office. If you want that person to have authority, appoint them as a proper co-executor. If you want their help without the legal responsibility, name them in a letter of wishes and let your actual executor lean on them. Both are fine. What doesn't work is a title that sounds official and carries nothing.
The tools that do have force are the platforms' own
This is where the real power sits, because it's contractual rather than statutory. Apple lets you nominate up to five Legacy Contacts, who use an access key plus a death certificate to reach your data. Google's Inactive Account Manager will, after a period of inactivity you choose, notify up to ten people and optionally share your data with them. Facebook has legacy contacts and memorialisation. Microsoft has a next of kin process. Every one of these is set up in advance by you, takes a few minutes, and beats anything your will can say, because the platform is following its own contract rather than English succession law.
Why sharing passwords isn't the shortcut it looks like
Logging into someone's account after their death, even a spouse's, generally breaches the provider's terms, and unauthorised access to a computer system can run into the Computer Misuse Act 1990. It also creates practical trouble: banks take a dim view of post-death logins, and platforms lock accounts they think have been compromised. The safe version is a record of what exists and where the keys are held, not a list of passwords.
The arrangement that actually works
One set of legal executors. Platform legacy tools switched on now. A clear inventory of accounts, subscriptions and anything with money attached. And one person, named informally, who knows the technology and has been asked in advance whether they're willing. That gives your family the help without splitting the authority, which is exactly the wrong thing to split.
Sorting this out for someone else? Make sure your family never has to.
Most of the time goes on finding out what the person had and who to call. Inherit Vault keeps that list for you: your accounts, pensions and policies, and where your will is kept. Only you can read it. Your executor gets it when it is needed.
Read more
- Your crypto is now legally property: the Digital Assets Act 2025 (UK)
- Can an executor also be a beneficiary? (UK)
- Are digital wills legally valid in the UK yet?
- GDPR and digital legacy: does EU data protection law cover you after you die?
- RUFADAA and digital assets: what happens to your online accounts when you die (US)