October Is Estate Planning Month: Protecting Your Online Life with a Digital Vault
Welcome to Week 3 of our Estate Planning Month series!
You’ve already laid the groundwork with your Wills, Trusts, and Directives, and now it’s time to add one of the most important — and often overlooked — pieces of your plan: your Digital Vault.
In today’s world, so much of our lives exist online — from bank accounts and photos to social media, subscriptions, and even airline miles. The average person now has over 100 digital accounts, each holding personal, financial, or sentimental value.
But most people never include these digital assets in their estate plan, leaving loved ones unsure where to look or how to manage things later. By organizing your online accounts in a Digital Vault, you make it far easier for your family to find what they need, honor your wishes, and keep your digital legacy intact during an already emotional time.
What Is a Digital Vault?
A Digital Vault is your secure, central hub for storing the digital parts of your life. With GoodTrust, it’s where you can upload, organize, and share important files and instructions, from legal documents to sentimental keepsakes.
It’s also where you can decide exactly who gets access to what — and when, yes that includes after your passing.
Think of it as a digital safety deposit box that keeps your most important assets safe and accessible for the right people, at the right time.
To learn more about how to build yours, check out our article Digital Legacy Checklist: What to Include in Your GoodTrust Vault.
Why It Matters
Our online accounts tell a huge part of our life story. Without clear instructions, those assets can disappear into the digital void.
Photos, videos, and personal messages can vanish.
Accounts may get locked indefinitely or deleted.
Loved ones can lose access to financial, travel, or crypto assets.
By setting up your Digital Vault, you’re giving your family the clarity and tools they’ll need to handle your online life with care and respect — no guesswork, no stress.
You can read more about what happens when accounts are left unmanaged in What Happens to Your Online Accounts When You Die?
How to Build Your Digital Vault in 4 Simple Steps
Gather Your Digital Assets Start by listing out the online accounts, subscriptions, and platforms you use regularly. This includes:
Banking, investment, and crypto accounts
Email and social media profiles
Cloud storage, photos, and videos
Memberships, subscriptions, and reward programs You can use the Digital Legacy Checklist to make sure you don’t miss a thing.
Upload and Organize Once you’ve identified your assets, upload important documents or notes into your GoodTrust Vault. You can include files, account instructions, or reminders. Check out Organize Your Documents Digitally—You’ll Be Glad You Did.
Add Notes and Instructions For each digital item, you can add context:
How to access it
What to do with it
Whether you’d like the account preserved, deleted, or shared This helps your loved ones act confidently on your behalf.
Assign Trusted Contacts This is where the magic happens. GoodTrust allows you to choose Trusted Contacts — the people who will have access to your Vault when the time comes.
You decide who gets access to what, and when.
You can grant your partner, family member, or executor permission to specific documents or full access to your Vault.
Permissions can be managed or changed anytime under “Trusted Contacts” in your account.
Learn more about this feature in Trusted Contacts with GoodTrust: What It Means and How to Add Them.
A Modern Legacy for a Modern Life
Your Digital Vault is more than storage — it’s the bridge between your physical and digital worlds. It ensures your stories, memories, and assets live on, securely and intentionally.
With just a few steps, you can safeguard everything that matters most — and make life a little easier for the people who matter most.
So take a few minutes this week to build your Digital Vault. Grab a coffee, open your GoodTrust account, and start organizing your digital life with confidence.
👉 Create your Digital Vault today with GoodTrust
And stay tuned for Week 4, when we’ll walk through how to make your documents legal and securely store them — the final step in completing your full, robust estate plan.