- A letter of instruction tells your executor what you have online, what you want done with it and where the access details are.
- It is not legally binding, but it is easy to update and stays private, unlike a will after probate.
- Keep passwords out of the letter itself. Say where to find them instead.
Your will deals with who inherits. A letter of instruction (sometimes called a letter of wishes) deals with how. For digital assets that is most of the work: which accounts exist, which ones matter, and what your family should do first.
Which? recommends writing one alongside your will. It also advises against listing specific digital assets in the will itself, because they change often. A letter can be rewritten whenever you like.
What it can and cannot do
A letter of instruction is guidance. It is not binding, and it does not give anyone legal authority. In the UK only your executor has that. A Law Society private client article recommends a detailed letter of wishes alongside the will, so that your executor knows what you intended.
In the US, the order matters. Under RUFADAA, the model law adopted in almost every state, a provider’s own online tool comes first, then directions in a will, trust or power of attorney, then the provider’s terms of service. Access to the content of your messages (not just who you wrote to and when) needs your consent in a tool, or in a will, trust, power of attorney or “other record”, unless a court orders disclosure. An estate attorney can confirm whether your letter is enough.
What to put in it
Where everything is
- The location of your digital asset inventory, and when you last updated it.
- Which password manager you use, and whether a contact is set up for emergency access.
- Where the master password is stored (not the password itself).
- How to find printed backup codes, recovery keys and any spare security key.
- The PIN for your phone, or where to find it. AARP calls the smartphone passcode the single most important thing to share.
Which legacy settings you have turned on
- Google Inactive Account Manager: who the trusted contacts are.
- Apple Legacy Contact: who holds an access key, and where the printed copy is.
- Facebook legacy contact, or your choice to have the account deleted.
What to do first
A short ordered list helps a grieving family more than a long description. For example:
- Do not close my main email. Password resets go there.
- Transfer my mobile number to [name] rather than cancelling it, so text codes keep arriving.
- Download the family photos from Google Photos before asking Google to close the account. Google cannot release data once an account is closed.
- Cancel subscriptions listed on page 2.
Your wishes for each account
Say what you want for each: keep, memorialise, download then delete, or close. Mark which items have money value and which are sentimental, as Which? suggests.
Who to contact
Your digital executor or the person helping your executor, your solicitor if you have one, and anyone who manages a domain or website with you.
Crypto
If you hold crypto, note that the instructions are separate and where they are. Our sister site on crypto inheritance covers what those instructions should include.
What to leave out
- Passwords and PINs written in full, unless the letter itself is stored as securely as the password would be. Better: say where they are.
- Account numbers. Guidance for legal professionals published by Cancer Research UK, drawing on STEP, says to leave these out of inventories.
- Instructions to log in as you. Using a dead person’s password can breach the provider’s terms and, in some cases, the Computer Misuse Act 1990. The Law Society article notes that this authority has to come from the service provider, not from the person who died. Ask your family to use each provider’s official process.
A will in England and Wales becomes a public record after probate, and anyone can order a copy from GOV.UK. A letter of instruction kept separately stays private, which is another reason to put the practical detail there.
Where to keep it
Keep it with your will or tell your executor where it is. GOV.UK lists places to store a will: at home, with a solicitor, with a bank, with a storage company or at the probate registry. Do not keep the only copy in a bank safe deposit box. In the UK, executors usually need probate before a bank will open one.
Review it once a year, and whenever you change phone, password manager or legacy contact.
Our free letter of instruction template gives you headings to fill in by hand.