Are you prepared for your digital death?

Facebook reported that in the next decade or so they anticipate having more accounts of those no longer alive than those who are living.

It’s a shocking truth that dealing with the digital legacy left by someone can be complex and painful.

The preparation of our physical death is hard enough for most people to consider, and for many our digital death is unlikely to even register as necessary.

Yet so much of our lives are online and digital, whether that be social media, streamed entertainment, online accounts and payments, banking and utilities.

When the inevitable does eventually happen, would those closest to you know even where to start to look for your online accounts, profiles and passwords?

There are a multitude of options: for example, on Facebook memorialised accounts are a place for friends and family to gather and share memories after a person has passed away. Or you can choose to have accounts removed – but that means gaining access.

To give families a helping hand, we’ve created a free guide to managing your Digital End of Life which you can download from williampurves.co.uk/digital-death

Containing helpful and practical advice, we’ve included links to specific pages to set up your own digital will, or to sites where you can record key details in a protected place. The main steps are summarised so both reading, and then taking action, is not a minefield.

Sun Life's Cost of Dying 2021 report points to the overwhelming pressures felt by those arranging funerals to "get it right" with less than 1 per cent of people knowing what their loved ones would want.

To have all your affairs in order, including your digital legacy, is such a kindness towards those who will be wrestling with – and confused by - their grief at the time of your death.

All our planning ahead resources are free at williampurves.co.uk/thinking-ahead and copies are also available from branches in St Andrews, the Lothians, the Borders and the North East.

For all you need to know about planning a funeral, visit https://www.williampurves.co.uk/planning-a-funeral/thinking-ahead/