As of: January 19, 2024, 2:04 p.m
By: Cefina Gomez
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Email account, social media account or streaming portals: When a person dies, they also leave traces in the digital world, but who takes care of that?
Bremen – Anyone who dies not only leaves behind many things, but also some online accounts.
Current contracts, subscriptions and memberships of deceased persons must be canceled to avoid unnecessary costs.
Very few people know how to manage the digital legacy and why account corpses in particular can endanger other people.
Taking precautionary measures not only regulates everything according to your own will, but also protects your relatives if the worst comes to the worst.
If a spouse dies in a childless marriage without a will, the surviving spouse does not automatically inherit everything.
What you need to consider when it comes to your digital legacy © Bihlmayerfotografie/ Imago
What concerns the digital legacy and what happens to it?
In principle, the digital estate includes all digital accounts and data.
This includes, among other things, documents, music, images, hard drives, websites and, last but not least, user accounts on social media.
In the past, accessing online accounts for survivors was often difficult because some online services denied access.
Thanks to the landmark ruling of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in 2018, the digital estate is also part of the inheritance.
Even if the deceased has made a different arrangement in the user settings, the heirs can still access the online accounts.
Many people benefit from an inheritance, which means assets are distributed unequally.
The millionaire heiress Marlene Engelhorn is committed to higher inheritance tax.
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How can I manage my digital estate?
Some online companies have now specialized in processing digital estates.
However, consumer advocate Christine Steffen warns against such services in an article in
Pharmacy Umschau
: “A dead person can no longer control the estate themselves.
We also advise against sending the sensitive access data to another provider in bulk, as this poses security risks,” explains Steffen.
If you want to take precautions and would rather not leave anything to chance, it is best to create an analog list of all accounts and their associated passwords.
It is also possible to appoint a trusted person with a power of attorney as the digital estate administrator.
However, the power of attorney must also be valid “even after death”.
The consumer advice center provides a sample power of attorney for this purpose.
What happens if I don't take care of my digital affairs?
In the event that no specific regulations have been made, it is the heirs' responsibility to take care of the digital matters.
However, the surviving dependents need a certificate of inheritance in order to receive access data in order to delete the accounts or manage subscriptions.
But this process not only costs time, but also money.
“The emotional aspect also comes into play: the death of a loved one usually causes sadness,” says Steffen.
The consumer advocate therefore recommends clarifying as many details as possible in advance in order to support the surviving dependents.
However, account corpses should be avoided in any case, as they can also endanger other people.
Hackers could grab the account or use images and videos for criminal purposes.
It was only last November that news of a hacker attack on German banks of frightening proportions became known.
(cg)