Lubbock, What Happens to Your Digital Life When You Die?

Sorry to be morbid, but...

Have you ever thought about what would happen to your Facebook, emails, thousands of photos, and your many social media and online accounts when you die?

Don't worry. This isn't going to be some kind of weird, depressing lecture. But there will come a day when someone will be trying to figure out what to do with all of your stuff online.

They may read through your private conversations, peruse the folder of pictures with your ex that you couldn't bear to part with, and they could even read the diary you've kept hidden in your Google Docs...

So, what happens to all of it?

A lot of that depends on what kind of plans you make ahead of time.

Facebook allows users to choose a trusted contact to help maintain certain aspects of a memorialized profile. If you opt for a memorialized profile, your pals will be able to leave comments, share pictures, and reminisce about your time on earth.

If you don't like the sound of that, you can also request to have your account deleted after your death.

No judgment here.

Lord knows, my mom would be sharing the worst photos of me imaginable.

Being dead means not having the option to delete them from the face of the planet.

That gives me the friggin' willies.

Apple offers something called Digital Legacy, which lets you designate a person of your choice to access certain things in your account after you die. Google has a similar option called Inactive Account Manager, which lets you decide what happens to all of the stuff you've got online if your account becomes inactive, ie., you croak.

Don't assume that your relatives will automatically get unrestricted access to every account you have. It doesn't work like that, and well, that's probably a good thing...

I don't know about you, but I've got a few things in there I wouldn't want my mother to stumble upon.

Texas has laws that govern access to your digital assets after death. It might be a good idea to scroll through them and make sure you're all on the same page before your grieving father comes across that folder of nudes...

Read More: How Safe Is Texas, Really, Compared To Other States

So, what can you do now?

• Make a list of important accounts.
• Choose someone you trust.
• Set up available legacy tools.
• Include any digital assets in your estate-planning conversations.
• Keep your instructions clear.
• Never simply hand out your passwords to someone.

Your family has already been through enough trauma after watching you skydive to your death, be trampled by an escaped zoo elephant, or get struck by lightning directly after saying, "That whole carrying an umbrella thing in a lightning storm is a myth, and I'll prove it..." 

Recovering your email account is the last thing they will want to mess with.

Take a little time to do your future self and your loved ones a favor by making a digital death plan before someone has to guess their way through your complicated private life.

Good luck, have fun, and don't die!

But if you do, at least be a little prepared. Your friends and family will thank you.

And while we're on the subject, check out the final words for 10 Texas death row inmates in the gallery below...