Guide · Digital
The digital estate
Email, social networks, online accounts: what happens to them and what you can do.
Digital accounts are inherited too
In 2018 Germany's Federal Court of Justice ruled that heirs step into contracts with online services, much like letters and diaries. Heirs therefore generally have a right to access the deceased person's accounts.
What belongs to the digital estate
- email accounts
- social networks such as Facebook or Instagram
- cloud storage with photos and documents
- online shops and payment services such as PayPal
- paid subscriptions such as streaming, music or apps
How to proceed
- Get an overview: Is there a password list? Which services send emails? What is on the phone and computer?
- Paid services first: Running subscriptions keep costing money. They usually show up in the account transactions.
- Contact providers: Most services have a procedure for deaths, usually with a copy of the death certificate.
- Remember or delete: Many networks offer to turn a profile into a memorial instead of deleting it.
How we can help
The cancellation service finds paid subscriptions and online services in the account transactions and cancels them for you. For lasting remembrance there are digital memorial pages, for example from our partner Monumeo ↗.
This guide gives a general overview of the situation in Germany and is not legal advice.