Burner Prudenti: Beyond the Will: Protecting Your Digital Legacy

Q: I recently learned that I can designate a Legacy Contact on my iPhone. What exactly does this mean, and should I consider it as part of my estate plan?

A: When we think about estate planning, we typically think about Wills, Trusts, and who will inherit our assets. Often overlooked are our digital assets: the photographs, messages, and documents stored in iCloud. Will your loved ones be able to access them? Not necessarily.

Apple’s Legacy Contact feature allows you to designate someone you trust, such as a spouse, child, or friend, to request access to your Apple Account data after your death. There is no requirement for the contact to have an iPhone or Apple Account. When you add a Legacy Contact, Apple generates an access key to share with that person. After your death, your Legacy Contact submits the access key, along with a copy of your death certificate, to Apple.

Once Apple approves the request, your Legacy Contact receives a special account through which he or she can access eligible data, including photographs, messages, notes, files, and device backups. That access lasts for three years, after which the account is permanently deleted, so your Legacy Contact should download anything worth keeping.

There are limits. A Legacy Contact cannot access passwords, payment information, or purchased movies, music, and books, and cannot unlock a passcode-protected iPhone. If you name more than one, each can act independently, even in deleting your data, so choose carefully.

Setup is simple. On a compatible iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, select Sign-In & Security, then Legacy Contact. Follow the prompts to add someone and share the access key by iMessage or printed copy. It is advisable to keep a copy with your estate planning documents, as well as a secure inventory of your digital accounts. You should never list passwords in your estate planning documents, especially a Will, which becomes public once filed with the Surrogate’s Court.

It is important to note a Legacy Contact does not replace an Executor, Trustee, or Power of Attorney agent, and New York law makes coordination important. Under New York law, a direction made through an online tool such as Legacy Contact generally overrides contrary instructions in your Will, Trust, or Power of Attorney. For other accounts, your Executor receives only a list of your emails and messages, not their contents, unless you consented.

Your estate planning documents should therefore expressly authorize access to digital assets. A Legacy Contact also has no authority during your lifetime. If dementia or illness leaves you unable to manage your affairs, your Power of Attorney agent will need specific authority to access your online accounts on your behalf.

As technology becomes a larger part of our lives, estate planning should account for our digital memories as well as our financial assets. Taking a few minutes to designate a Legacy Contact today may spare your loved ones difficulty tomorrow. After all, leaving a legacy is not just about the assets we leave behind, but also the memories we help preserve.

— Alma Muharemovic, Esq. and Michal Lipshitz, Esq.

Alma Muharemovic, Esq. is an Associate Attorney at Burner Prudenti Law, P.C. focusing her practice area on Estate Planning. Michal Lipshitz, Esq. is a Senior Associate Attorney at Burner Prudenti Law, P.C. focusing her practice areas on Elder and Estate Planning. Burner Prudenti Law, P.C. serves clients from New York City to the east end of Long Island with offices located in East Setauket, Westhampton Beach, Manhattan and East Hampton.

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