What happens to your online accounts if something happens to you?
How to prepare
It’s not a comfortable thing to think about. But if you manage the household’s online accounts — the banking, the energy bills, the insurance, the subscriptions, the email — there’s an important question worth sitting with: what would your family do if you were suddenly unable to help them?
An accident, a sudden illness, or simply being incapacitated for a period of time could leave the people you love locked out of accounts they urgently need access to. Bank accounts. Utility bills that need to be paid. Insurance policies that need to be accessed. Government services that need to be dealt with.
This isn’t a morbid topic. It’s a practical one. And addressing it now, while everything is fine, is one of the kindest things you can do for the people who depend on you.
The problem with how most people store account information
Many people keep their passwords in their heads — or written on scraps of paper that only they know about, or stored in ways that only make sense to them. This works perfectly well day to day.
In an emergency, it becomes a serious problem. Your partner might know which bank you use but not how to log into online banking. Your children might be able to find the energy company bill but have no idea what the username or password is. Important accounts might go unmanaged for weeks or months simply because no one has the information to access them.
Some accounts, particularly banking and government services, have strict identity verification processes. Without the right credentials, even immediate family members can face weeks of paperwork to gain legitimate access.
The just-in-case record
The solution is a simple, secure document that gives the right person access to the right information if they ever need it. Think of it as an instruction manual for your digital life — not for daily use, but stored safely for emergencies.
This document should cover the key accounts that your family would need to access or manage in your absence. At minimum, this includes your main bank account, email, any investment or superannuation accounts with online access, utility accounts, insurance policies, and any subscriptions that need to be cancelled to avoid ongoing charges.
For each account, you’ll want to record the website address, the email or username used to log in, and ideally enough information for someone to reset the password if needed (which usually requires access to your email).
What to write down — and what not to
The question of what to record is delicate. You want to give enough information to be genuinely useful, without creating a document that becomes a liability if it falls into the wrong hands.
Record usernames and account email addresses — these are relatively safe to write down. Record the email address or phone number associated with each account, as these are needed for password resets. Include the name of the institution, the type of account, and any account numbers that appear on statements.
Be careful about recording passwords in plain text. If you do write passwords down, use a simple code that your trusted person will understand but a stranger won’t. Or, better still, make sure your trusted person knows how to reset passwords using your email address — that’s often all they need.
Do not store this document digitally in a place where it could be easily hacked (like a public cloud service with weak security, or an unprotected file on your desktop). Do not store the only copy somewhere it might be thrown away or lost.
Where to keep it
A few options work well.
A physical document in a fireproof safe or lockbox at home. Your solicitor’s office or safe custody facility. A sealed envelope given to your most trusted family member with instructions to open only in an emergency. A reputable password manager (such as Bitwarden or 1Password) that your nominated person has the master password for.
The right choice depends on your situation. The important thing is that the document is secure, that at least one trusted person knows it exists and where to find it, and that you review and update it at least once a year.
Linking this to your will
This kind of digital estate planning sits naturally alongside your regular will and estate planning. If you have a solicitor who looks after your will, it’s worth mentioning your digital accounts and asking how best to handle them.
Some people include a “letter of wishes” alongside their will that addresses digital accounts specifically, since listing account credentials in a legal will creates its own complications.
Start simple
You don’t need to do all of this at once. Start by writing down the three most critical accounts — your bank, your email, and your superannuation — along with the information needed to access or reset each one. Store that document somewhere safe. Tell one trusted person it exists.
That’s already a meaningful step. You can add to it over time until you have a complete picture.
The peace of mind this creates — for you and for the people you love — is entirely worth the hour it takes to put together.
Cyber Safe & Confident includes a dedicated chapter on creating a safe just-in-case record, with guidance on what to include, how to store it securely, and how to make sure it’s genuinely useful without creating a security risk.
What happens to your online accounts if something happens to you?
How to prepare
It’s not a comfortable thing to think about. But if you manage the household’s online accounts — the banking, the energy bills, the insurance, the subscriptions, the email — there’s an important question worth sitting with: what would your family do if you were suddenly unable to help them?
An accident, a sudden illness, or simply being incapacitated for a period of time could leave the people you love locked out of accounts they urgently need access to. Bank accounts. Utility bills that need to be paid. Insurance policies that need to be accessed. Government services that need to be dealt with.
This isn’t a morbid topic. It’s a practical one. And addressing it now, while everything is fine, is one of the kindest things you can do for the people who depend on you.
The problem with how most people store account information
Many people keep their passwords in their heads — or written on scraps of paper that only they know about, or stored in ways that only make sense to them. This works perfectly well day to day.
In an emergency, it becomes a serious problem. Your partner might know which bank you use but not how to log into online banking. Your children might be able to find the energy company bill but have no idea what the username or password is. Important accounts might go unmanaged for weeks or months simply because no one has the information to access them.
Some accounts, particularly banking and government services, have strict identity verification processes. Without the right credentials, even immediate family members can face weeks of paperwork to gain legitimate access.
The just-in-case record
The solution is a simple, secure document that gives the right person access to the right information if they ever need it. Think of it as an instruction manual for your digital life — not for daily use, but stored safely for emergencies.
This document should cover the key accounts that your family would need to access or manage in your absence. At minimum, this includes your main bank account, email, any investment or superannuation accounts with online access, utility accounts, insurance policies, and any subscriptions that need to be cancelled to avoid ongoing charges.
For each account, you’ll want to record the website address, the email or username used to log in, and ideally enough information for someone to reset the password if needed (which usually requires access to your email).
What to write down — and what not to
The question of what to record is delicate. You want to give enough information to be genuinely useful, without creating a document that becomes a liability if it falls into the wrong hands.
Record usernames and account email addresses — these are relatively safe to write down. Record the email address or phone number associated with each account, as these are needed for password resets. Include the name of the institution, the type of account, and any account numbers that appear on statements.
Be careful about recording passwords in plain text. If you do write passwords down, use a simple code that your trusted person will understand but a stranger won’t. Or, better still, make sure your trusted person knows how to reset passwords using your email address — that’s often all they need.
Do not store this document digitally in a place where it could be easily hacked (like a public cloud service with weak security, or an unprotected file on your desktop). Do not store the only copy somewhere it might be thrown away or lost.
Where to keep it
A few options work well.
A physical document in a fireproof safe or lockbox at home. Your solicitor’s office or safe custody facility. A sealed envelope given to your most trusted family member with instructions to open only in an emergency. A reputable password manager (such as Bitwarden or 1Password) that your nominated person has the master password for.
The right choice depends on your situation. The important thing is that the document is secure, that at least one trusted person knows it exists and where to find it, and that you review and update it at least once a year.
Linking this to your will
This kind of digital estate planning sits naturally alongside your regular will and estate planning. If you have a solicitor who looks after your will, it’s worth mentioning your digital accounts and asking how best to handle them.
Some people include a “letter of wishes” alongside their will that addresses digital accounts specifically, since listing account credentials in a legal will creates its own complications.
Start simple
You don’t need to do all of this at once. Start by writing down the three most critical accounts — your bank, your email, and your superannuation — along with the information needed to access or reset each one. Store that document somewhere safe. Tell one trusted person it exists.
That’s already a meaningful step. You can add to it over time until you have a complete picture.
The peace of mind this creates — for you and for the people you love — is entirely worth the hour it takes to put together.
Cyber Safe & Confident includes a dedicated chapter on creating a safe just-in-case record, with guidance on what to include, how to store it securely, and how to make sure it’s genuinely useful without creating a security risk.