Michigan Digital Life After Death: Facebook, Apple, Google -- What Happens

When you die, your spouse cannot just call Apple and ask for your photos. Google will not hand over 18 years of Gmail. Facebook will memorialize your profile without asking your family first. Crypto wallets become permanently inaccessible if no one knows the seed phrase. These are the realities of digital estate planning in 2026, and they are nothing like the way physical assets pass. Michigan has a state law -- the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act -- that gives your personal representative legal authority to ask, but Apple, Google, Meta, and the rest are allowed to require a court order, a death certificate, and weeks of paperwork before they unlock anything. The much faster path is the 30-minute setup using each platform's own legacy tools. Here is the DIY playbook.

Why Your Will Cannot Get Into Your Phone

The reason your physical estate plan does not automatically unlock your digital life is contract law. When you signed up for an Apple ID, a Google account, or a Facebook profile, you agreed to a Terms of Service Agreement (TOSA). Almost every major platform's TOSA either prohibits sharing your password with anyone (even your spouse) or makes the account non-transferable on death. Your will trumps the TOSA in some cases under federal law, but most platforms still require you to use their own tools to designate access.

Two separate paths exist:

1. The platform's own "legacy tool" -- a setting inside the account where you tell the company who gets access if you die. This is the fastest, cleanest path. Apple, Google, and Facebook all offer one.
2. State law plus your will/trust/power of attorney -- Michigan's Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (FADAA) acts as a backstop when the platform's legacy tool is not set up. It is slower, requires legal documents and a death certificate, and still gives the platform discretion to limit access.

The best plan uses both: set up legacy tools wherever they exist, and add digital authority language to your will and power of attorney for everything else.

Michigan FADAA: The Backstop Law

Michigan adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) as HB 5034 in 2016. The Michigan version is called the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (FADAA). The law identifies four kinds of fiduciaries who can get at your digital assets:

• An agent under your durable financial power of attorney (while you are alive but incapacitated).
• A personal representative under your will (after death).
• A trustee under your trust.
• A court-appointed conservator (if no other plan exists).

To use FADAA, your fiduciary has to send the platform:

• A written request for disclosure.
• A certified copy of your death certificate (for post-death access).
• A copy of letters of authority (from probate), the power of attorney, or the trust certificate.
• Often a unique account identifier (your email, username, or phone number) so the platform can locate the account.

Per Kreis Enderle's analysis of the Michigan law, "Upon presentation of the appropriate documentation, the digital custodian has 56 days to present the appropriate account information to the fiduciary." That is almost two months -- and the platform can still require a court order before disclosing the actual content of your communications. Set up the legacy tools instead. Use FADAA only as the fallback.

The hierarchy

RUFADAA establishes a clear pecking order. The platform's online tool (Legacy Contact, Inactive Account Manager, etc.) is the FIRST authority. Your will or trust is the SECOND authority. The TOSA is third. Default state law is last. As long as you use the legacy tool, that decision binds the company.

Apple Legacy Contact

Apple introduced the Legacy Contact in iOS 15.2 (late 2021). It is the single most important digital estate planning tool for most families because Apple holds your photos, iMessages, notes, contacts, and device backups.

How to set it up

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open Settings and tap your name at the top.
2. Tap "Sign-In & Security."
3. Scroll down to "Legacy Contact."
4. Tap "Add Legacy Contact" and pick a family member or friend from your contacts.
5. Apple generates an access key. Send the key to your legacy contact (printed, emailed, or via Messages) and tell them where to keep it.
6. You can add multiple Legacy Contacts -- each gets their own access key.

What Legacy Contacts can access

• Photos and videos.
• iMessages and SMS history.
• Notes, calendars, contacts.
• Files in iCloud Drive.
• Device backups.

What they CANNOT access

• iCloud Keychain (passwords).
• Apple ID payment info.
• Licensed media (music, movies, TV) -- those die with you.
• The Apple ID itself (your account becomes a new "memorial" ID).

Legacy Contacts have 3 years from the first access request to download your data before Apple permanently deletes the account.

Google Inactive Account Manager

Google's tool is called Inactive Account Manager and it has been around since 2013. It is the most flexible legacy tool of any major platform.

How to set it up

1. Go to myaccount.google.com and sign in.
2. Click "Data & privacy."
3. Scroll to "More options" and click "Make a plan for your digital legacy."
4. Choose an inactivity period: 3, 6, 12, or 18 months. (For most people, 6 months is the right choice -- long enough to avoid false alarms during a long vacation or hospital stay, short enough to be useful.)
5. Add up to 10 trusted contacts. Specify which Google services each contact can access (Gmail, Drive, Photos, YouTube, Calendar, etc.).
6. Optionally, set Google to automatically delete your account after the inactivity period.
7. Google will text or email you several times before activating the plan, to confirm you are still inactive.

When the inactivity period passes, your designated contacts receive a notification with download links for the data you authorized them to access. They have approximately 3 months to download before the data is deleted (if you chose auto-delete).

Google's tool is the gold standard. If only one platform matters to you, this is the one to set up.

Facebook Legacy Contact

Facebook's policy is to memorialize accounts when they are notified of a death. A memorialized account has "Remembering" before the name, friends can post tributes, and no one can log in. A Legacy Contact gets limited management rights.

How to set it up

1. On Facebook, click your profile picture in the upper right.
2. Select "Settings & Privacy" then "Settings."
3. Under General Profile Settings, click "Memorialization Settings."
4. Type a friend's name and click "Add." They will be notified.
5. Legacy Contact must be 18+ and a Facebook user.

What a Legacy Contact CAN do

• Write a pinned post or final message on your behalf.
• Update your profile picture and cover photo.
• Decide who can see and post tributes.
• Remove tags from posts you were tagged in.
• Request the removal of your account.
• Download a copy of what you have shared on Facebook (if you opt-in).

What they CANNOT do

• Log into your account.
• Read your Messenger messages.
• Make new friend requests.
• Remove existing friends.

If you would rather have your account deleted on death, you can choose that option in the same settings panel instead of naming a Legacy Contact.

Instagram, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Microsoft

• Instagram (Meta): No Legacy Contact. Family can memorialize the account with proof of death, or request deletion with proof of death plus birth certificate.
• Twitter/X: No legacy tool. Family can request deletion only. Content is lost.
• LinkedIn: No legacy tool. Family can submit a removal form. Content is lost.
• Microsoft: No legacy tool. Family can request data via a "Custodian of Records" process; Microsoft requires a court order in most cases.
• Amazon: No legacy tool. Family must contact Amazon Account Specialist with death certificate.

For all of these, the Michigan FADAA route is your backup -- but you need the will/trust/POA language pre-drafted.

Cryptocurrency and Password Managers

This is where digital estate planning becomes a survival issue. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and other self-custody crypto wallets are protected by a "seed phrase" (usually 12 or 24 words) or a private key. If no one has access to the seed phrase, the crypto is permanently lost on your death. Chainalysis estimates that 20% of all Bitcoin has already been lost this way.

What to do with crypto seed phrases

1. Never put seed phrases in your will. Wills become public records in Michigan probate court.
2. Use a hardware wallet like Ledger or Trezor for any meaningful holdings.
3. Write the seed phrase on paper and store in a fireproof safe at home or a safe deposit box. Tell your spouse and personal representative where the safe is and how to open it.
4. For larger holdings, consider Shamir Secret Sharing -- split the seed into multiple pieces stored in multiple locations, none of which alone can recover the wallet.
5. If on a custodial exchange (Coinbase, Kraken, Binance.US), the exchange has its own death/inheritance procedure. Contact them in advance.
6. Include a "How to access my crypto" document in your estate folder. List what coins you hold, on what exchange or wallet, and where the keys/seed are stored (not the keys themselves -- their location).

Password managers

If you use 1Password, LastPass, Bitwarden, Dashlane, or Keeper, set up the emergency access / family vault feature. Most password managers let you designate trusted contacts who can request emergency access after a waiting period. This is the closest thing to "one tool to rule them all" -- with the master password recovered, your fiduciary can log into every account you have ever used.

Adding Digital Assets to Your Will

Even with all the legacy tools set up, your will should contain explicit language authorizing your personal representative to access digital assets under Michigan FADAA. Sample clause:

I hereby grant my Personal Representative, in accordance with the Michigan Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act and any successor law, full power and authority to access, control, transfer, and dispose of all of my digital assets, electronic communications, and digital accounts, including but not limited to email accounts, social media accounts, online financial accounts, online photo and video storage, online retail and subscription accounts, and cryptocurrency wallets, and to compel custodians of such digital assets to disclose the contents thereof. I specifically consent under all applicable federal privacy laws to such access and disclosure.

The phrase "I specifically consent under all applicable federal privacy laws" matters -- the federal Stored Communications Act otherwise restricts disclosure of email content, and your written consent in the will overrides that restriction for your designated fiduciary.

The CreateMIWill Will Kit includes this exact clause already.

Your 30-Minute DIY Setup

1. Apple Legacy Contact (5 min): Settings > Apple ID > Sign-In & Security > Legacy Contact. Add spouse plus one adult child. Save access keys somewhere they can find.
2. Google Inactive Account Manager (10 min): myaccount.google.com > Data & privacy > Make a plan for your digital legacy. 6-month inactivity. Add 2-3 contacts. Authorize Gmail, Drive, Photos.
3. Facebook Legacy Contact (3 min): Settings > Memorialization Settings. Add one trusted adult.
4. Password manager emergency contact (5 min): Follow your manager's "emergency access" or "trusted contact" instructions.
5. Crypto access document (5 min): One-page sheet listing your wallets, exchanges, and the physical location of any seed phrases. Store with your will (NOT the keys themselves).
6. Update your will (2 min): Use a Michigan-specific kit that includes FADAA digital authority language. The CreateMIWill Will Kit already has it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my spouse just use my phone passcode to get into my Apple account after I die?

Maybe, for a short time, until the phone wipes itself or Apple notices unusual activity. This is not a real plan -- Apple's Activation Lock makes the device unusable once they detect a deceased account holder. Use Legacy Contact.

What happens to my Gmail if I do nothing?

Without an Inactive Account Manager plan, Google does not let your family access the account. They can request the account be closed, and Google may release "some" content with a court order. Most Gmail content is lost. Set up the plan.

Does my Michigan will automatically apply to my digital assets?

Under FADAA, yes -- BUT the platform can require additional documentation and may refuse access to the content of electronic communications without explicit consent. The will should include the digital authority clause shown above.

Can I give my kids my Apple ID password in my will?

You can write it down, but the will becomes a public record once filed in probate. Anyone reading the court file can see the password. Use a password manager or sealed letter instead.

What about my crypto?

Crypto is the highest-risk digital asset. If no one knows your seed phrase or has access to your hardware wallet, the funds are permanently lost. Document the location of your keys (not the keys themselves) in your estate file. For meaningful holdings, consider splitting the seed across multiple secured locations.

Will my Netflix and Hulu subscriptions cancel automatically?

No. Subscription services keep billing until the credit card is canceled or the bank notifies them of death. Your personal representative should contact each subscription within 30 days of death.

Can my legacy contact see my old text messages?

For Apple, yes -- Legacy Contacts can access iMessage history. For Google, only if you authorize Gmail access. Facebook Legacy Contacts CANNOT see Messenger messages.

Is "memorializing" an account on Facebook good or bad?

It depends on the family. Memorialized accounts let friends post tributes but lock the account from further posts or messages. If you would prefer your account be deleted, choose that option instead.

Can I sell or inherit a YouTube channel with monetization?

Yes, but it requires Google's Inactive Account Manager + a written estate plan + sometimes a court order. YouTube revenue continues to accrue for the channel, but only the designated heir can access the AdSense account.

What if I want my digital photos backed up to my family but my emails permanently deleted?

Google's Inactive Account Manager lets you authorize specific Google services per contact. You can authorize Photos to your daughter and authorize nothing to anyone else, then check the auto-delete-account box. Apple does not yet offer this granularity.

Build the Digital Plan

Your digital life is a real estate now -- photos, emails, crypto, social profiles, subscriptions, cloud documents. Without a 30-minute setup, your family inherits a locked phone and a string of "we cannot help you" emails from tech companies. With the right legacy contacts in place plus a Michigan will that includes FADAA digital authority language, your fiduciary can access what you want them to access and let the rest go quietly. The CreateMIWill Will Kit includes the digital authority clause and a printable digital asset inventory worksheet.