What happens to your digital assets when you die? Evan Carroll, a digital legacy expert and co-founder of The Digital Beyond, investigates.

Almost without realising it, we've shifted to an all-digital culture. Our letters are now emails, our photos and videos are digital and our bills are paid electronically. As a result of our new modern conveniences are the increasingly vast collections of valuable electronic data called digital assets.

Unlike the past, when most of our digital information was stored on a computer or device, our digital assets are now stored in 'The Cloud', using various email, social media and file storage services. Today an individual can own digital assets on numerous computer systems that they do not own, and so they are not physically located with their estate.

Realising the sentimental and perhaps cultural importance of this information, along with its fragile and distributed nature, solicitors, entrepreneurs and legislators are all working to solve the question of what happens to our digital assets once we've passed away.

With many of our digital assets stored by various service providers, a common question is what might happen to each of them when we die. With that in mind, here are the answers for some common providers.

What happens to Facebook when you die?

Facebook allows for the removal or memorialisation of an account. A memorialised account's username and password no longer work, however the profile is maintained with the existing privacy settings in place. Anyone with proof of death can request the memorialisation of an account. Verified family members can request the removal of an account.

For more information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/help/www/150486848354038

What happens to Twitter when you die?

Twitter will either allow a profile to remain online or remove it at the request of a family member. Removal requires a written request including the death certificate, some proof of identification, proof of your relationship to the deceased, and, in some cases, proof the Twitter account belonged to the deceased.

For more information, visit: https://support.twitter.com/articles/87894-contacting-twitter-about-a-deceased-user

What happens to Yahoo! when you die?

Yahoo's terms of service do not permit anyone to access the account of a deceased user, stating that rights to the account expire when the user passes away.

What happens to Google when you die?

Google will provide access to the email of the deceased. After completing an initial application including the death certificate, proof of your identification, and the full header of an email sent to you from the account in question. Your case will be reviewed and if successful you will be asked to provide additional legal documentation.

Google also has a tool called the Inactive Account Manager, which allows users to specify whom should gain access, if anyone, to their data when the account becomes inactive.

For more information, visit:https://support.google.com/mail/answer/14300?hl=en

The best course of action

With significant differences in policy, and some providers lacking any formal policy, the best course of action for individuals is advance planning. By incorporating your digital assets into your estate plans, you can ensure the representative of your estate will have access to your accounts and can carry out your wishes.

First, take an inventory of your online accounts. Be sure to include your email and social media accounts, but don't forget others like online file sharing, backups or payment services.

Second, consider what you would like to happen to each account. Perhaps one contains photos you'd like for your family to have. Perhaps another contains messages you'd prefer not to share.

Finally, determine the best way to communicate your accounts and wishes to your family. In some cases, you may want to provide a family member with your passwords. In others, you may want to create a document and store it in a safe place. If you want a more secure method, you might consider one of the many online vault services that can store your information until your passing.

You should also consult your solicitor and explore options to include instructions regarding your digital assets in your will or other estate planning documents. You should also be careful to not list your usernames and passwords in your will.

If you do nothing else, make sure you consider the above and have a quick conversation with a loved one. Even taking a small step of preparation can help your family immensely in the event of your death.

Despite all that's changed as we've adopted new digital lives, one thing remains constant - our desires to leave lasting memories and mementos to our families when we're gone. By understanding the policies and preparing ahead of time, we can ensure our digital legacies aren't lost for future generations.

About the author

Evan Carroll is an author, speaker and user experience strategist who works to make digital experiences more personal, more emotional and more effective. A leader in the developing digital legacy and personal archiving arena, Evan is author and co-founder at The Digital Beyond and co-author of the book, Your Digital Afterlife: When Facebook, Flickr and Twitter Are Your Estate, What's Your Legacy? Evan has also appeared in numerous media outlets including The New York Times, NPR's Fresh Air, Obit magazine, NPR's Here and Now, Fox News, CNN and The Atlantic. You can follow Evan on Twitter @evancarroll.