Passwords are a family matter. Children, parents and partners all have accounts, and someone may need to handle yours one day. This guide brings it all together. It is part of Everyday passwords.
What goes in a digital legacy plan
Goes in the plan
- A list of important accounts
- Who your legacy contacts are
- Where your password manager's emergency kit is
- What you want done with each account
Stays out of the plan
- Passwords and PINs
- Recovery phrases
- Backup codes
- Anything that works alone if the plan is found
Keeping people safe
- Password safety for kids and teens covers simple rules by age.
- Helping older parents with passwords shows how to help without taking over.
- Writing passwords down explains when paper is fine, which suits many people.
Sharing at home
Stop texting passwords around. Sharing passwords safely with family shows how a shared vault works. The harder question of what partners should share is covered in should couples share passwords?.
When someone dies or falls ill
These are hard things to think about, and planning saves your family a lot of pain:
- Read what happens to your online accounts when you die.
- Set up legacy contacts on Apple, Google and Facebook.
- Write a digital legacy plan. It has no passwords inside.
- Set up emergency access to your password vault.
If you hold crypto, read how to pass crypto to your family as well, because no legacy tool exists for it.
Keep it up to date
Run a yearly family password check-up. It keeps your accounts tidy and your plans current.