Certain aspects of succession planning that would not have been relevant as little as five years ago, have suddenly become very important in today’s increasingly digital world. You should therefore consider leaving clear instructions about what should happen to your social media and other online accounts after your death.

Having a list of all your online accounts, such as email, banking, and social networking sites, will make it easier for your heirs to piece together your digital legacy and ensure that your wishes are met.

If we take Facebook as an example, they have provided their users with two options for when the user passes away. You can either request what they call the “memorialization” of your account. Or alternatively, your account can be permanently deleted after your death. The choice is yours, and can be made on your account settings, under the “security” option.

If you opt for the memorialization of your account, your Facebook page will stay on Facebook and content will continue to be visible. The word “remembering” will be shown next to your name on your profile but the account cannot be changed, unless you appoint what is known as a “legacy contact”.

The legacy contact is a recent addition to Facebook where you are able to choose someone to manage your account if it has been memorialized. They are able to write a post on your profile, respond to new friend requests and update profile pictures and cover photos. Past posts and photos cannot be removed or changed, old messages cannot be read and friends cannot be removed by the legacy contact.

In this way, by planning ahead in the same way as we plan for our physical items when we die, we can ensure some control over our online presence after our death.