One of the most challenging aspects of estate planning is ensuring that you have a reliable way for your loved ones to access your email, and any other digital accounts that you have. You probably have logins for credit cards, banks, cell phones, etc. But do you have the access information written down somewhere?

This is becoming the #1 hurdle for friends or family to help in times of incapacity OR to start working on the estate.

Pro Tip: Write it all down. Yes, on a piece of paper. Yes, in your estate planning binder. (Yes, you have an estate planning binder because you’ve already done the planning, right? If not, please contact me!)

If your loved ones don’t have access from you, then they’re going to court to get an order to get access. It’s a headache, time consuming, and costly.

So, how does your family access your email? You give them access, however you feel comfortable doing it. Just be sure they can login without your help. And, if you do write it down on paper or type it in a Word doc, please tell someone where it is. It’s not useful if no one can find it.