Articles — Digital Estate Planning and Inheritance

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Guides for the big decisions.

Digital estate planning What to document, who needs access, and how to keep the plan usable. Planning checklist The first-pass inventory for accounts, files, contacts, and release instructions. EU digital estate planning GDPR limits after death, cross-border succession, and practical access. Choose a digital executor Who should receive instructions, act calmly, and know when to ask for help. Online accounts after death What can happen to accounts, subscriptions, cloud files, and recovery paths. Password handover How to pass on password access without handing everyone everything. Crypto inheritance How to give your family a recovery path without weakening your security. Dead man's switch vs digital will Legal intent and practical access solve different parts of the problem.

June 26, 2026

Digital Legacy Is Finally Mainstream. Now Make It Executable.

The Netherlands is waking up to digital inheritance. Awareness matters, but your family still needs a plan they can actually use.
June 12, 2026

Why Self-Hosting Your Dead Man's Switch Defeats the Point

Self-hosting a dead man's switch feels sovereign, but the system has to work when you can no longer maintain it. That is the part most DIY plans get backwards.
June 8, 2026

The Death of Digital Identity

Digital identity systems are excellent at proving a living person is present. They are still bad at death, incapacity, delegation, and inheritance.
May 19, 2026

Governments Are Waking Up. Your Family Still Needs a Plan.

Governments are starting to recognize digital assets, digital identity, and posthumous access. Good. Your family still needs a plan now.
April 29, 2026

The AI Afterlife Won't Save Your Family

AI can clone your voice and simulate your personality. It can't pay the mortgage, close accounts, or tell your family where the insurance papers are.
April 16, 2026

The $2 Trillion Digital Estate Problem

Americans value digital assets at $191,516 on average. That creates a massive inheritance gap most families still have no plan for.
March 29, 2026

Identity's Biggest Unsolved Problem (And Why It's About to Get Solved)

The OpenID Foundation just declared digital death 'the biggest unsolved problem in identity.' Here's what that means for your digital legacy.
March 12, 2026

Your Password Manager Isn't an Inheritance Plan

Password manager emergency access is useful, but it is not inheritance planning. Families need context, instructions, and a release process.
March 4, 2026

Crypto Inheritance Horror Stories From Reddit

Every few weeks, someone posts on r/Bitcoin: my dad died and we can't access his crypto. I collected real stories. The patterns are sobering.
February 23, 2026

What to actually put in your vault (and how to structure it)

You created a vault. Now what? A practical guide to what belongs inside — from password manager access to crypto recovery to the stuff that's easy to forget.
February 12, 2026

What your contacts actually see

Every email, every message, every screen — from the moment you add someone as a trusted contact to the moment they open your vault.
February 2, 2026

How we encrypt your vault (and what we can and can't see)

Every file is encrypted in your browser before upload. Here's how Trustbourne's two encryption modes work and what tradeoffs they create.
January 12, 2026

Notary vaults vs Trustbourne: which one protects your digital legacy?

Notary vaults like IZIMI are free but limited: heirs only, death certificates required, 1 GB storage. Trustbourne works differently. Here's how to choose.

Digital estate planning, minus the fog.

Guides for the big decisions.