What Your Family Will Face Without a Plan
Reading Time: 10 minutes
- The Problem: Average Canadians manage 200+ passwords across dozens of platforms—without planning, families get locked out of precious photos, accounts, and memories during grief.
- Your Digital Life is Huge: Most underestimate their footprint across email, banking, social media, cloud storage, streaming services, and smart home devices until it’s too late.
- Simple Solution: Create a password inventory, choose a digital executor, set up platform legacy contacts, and document your wishes—any planning beats none.
When Margaret’s 78-year-old father passed away suddenly in Toronto, she discovered he had over 40 active online accounts—from three different email addresses to subscription services she’d never heard of. Six months later, she’s still trying to access his cloud storage containing 20 years of family photos.
Margaret’s story reflects a hidden crisis facing Canadian families today. While previous generations left behind physical belongings that could be sorted through methodically, today’s connected Canadians live simultaneously in two worlds: physical and digital. When someone passes away in 2025, their smartphone becomes a locked vault of contacts and messages, their social media profiles continue receiving birthday wishes, their streaming services keep charging monthly fees, and their digital photos—often the only copies—become inaccessible to grieving family members.
This isn’t about dwelling on mortality—it’s about preventing unnecessary heartache during an already difficult time.
When Death Goes Digital: The New Reality
A generation ago, “getting someone’s affairs in order” meant physical tasks: collecting mail, canceling newspaper subscriptions, visiting the bank in person. The transformation since then has been remarkable.
Then (1995):
- Only 37% of Canadians were online by 1999
- One computer per household, if any
- Physical documents and photo albums ruled everything
- Banking required branch visits or phone calls
Now (2025): Statistics Canada reports that 82.6% of Canadian seniors now use the internet—a 6.3% jump since 2020 alone. The typical Canadian maintains active relationships with dozens of digital platforms, creating a complex web that families struggle to untangle after loss.
Your Digital Life: Bigger Than You Realize
Most Canadians dramatically underestimate their digital footprint. The scale of modern digital lives is staggering:
Your Communication Universe
Beyond basic email, most Canadians maintain active presences across multiple platforms. Your smartphone alone likely contains years of text conversations, thousands of contacts, WhatsApp family groups, LinkedIn professional networks, and social media profiles documenting years of life moments.
Your Financial Digital Ecosystem
Online banking has evolved far beyond simple account checking. Modern Canadians manage investments through platforms like Questrade and Wealthsimple, hold loyalty points worth hundreds of dollars, maintain PayPal and e-transfer services, and increasingly hold cryptocurrency assets. Each platform requires unique access credentials and security protocols.
Your Memory Archive
Unlike previous generations who kept photo albums on shelves, today’s families store memories across multiple cloud services—iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox. These digital collections often represent the most comprehensive family histories ever created, containing thousands of irreplaceable photos and videos that exist nowhere else.
Your Daily Life Services
From streaming subscriptions and smart home systems to healthcare portals and utility accounts, the average Canadian maintains relationships with dozens of service providers. Gaming accounts hold years of progress and digital purchases, while smart home devices control everything from security systems to heating.
Research indicates Canadians now manage an average of 168 personal passwords—a 70% increase in just a few years. Studies show Canadians have the highest password reuse rates globally—15 times per password—creating layers of complexity that can overwhelm grieving families.
Taking Inventory: Your Digital House Tour
Think of organizing your digital life like cleaning house, room by room. Don’t attempt this inventory in one session—most families need several weeks to map their complete digital presence.
The Office (Essential Business)
- Government Portals: Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) My Account, Employment Insurance online, provincial health systems
- Banking and Investments: All financial institutions, robo-advisors, credit union accounts
- Professional Networks: LinkedIn, work-related accounts, professional associations
The Family Room (Personal Connections)
- Social Media: Facebook profiles with years of family photos, Instagram accounts, TikTok, platforms where you share family moments
- Cloud Storage: Family photos, important documents, videos stored across multiple services
- Communication Apps: WhatsApp, Skype, FaceTime, messaging platforms connecting you to loved ones
The Entertainment Center
- Streaming Services: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Crave, Disney+, Apple TV+, Spotify—each with personalized playlists and family profiles
- Gaming Accounts: Years of progress, digital purchases, gaming communities
- Digital Media: iTunes libraries, Kindle books, audiobook collections
The Utility Room (Background Services)
- Automatic Payment Subscriptions: Services you might forget you have
- Loyalty Programs: Optimum, Aeroplan, Canadian Tire Triangle Rewards, Costco online accounts—often holding significant point values
- Smart Home Devices: Systems controlling thermostats, security, lighting
- Online Shopping: Amazon accounts with saved payment methods, specialized hobby sites
The Medicine Cabinet (Healthcare & Services)
- Healthcare Portals: Provincial health portals, telehealth accounts
- Pharmacy Apps: Shoppers Drug Mart, prescription services
- Insurance Portals: Life, home, auto insurance company accounts
- Fitness Tracking: Apps storing years of health data
Essential Steps to Secure Your Digital Legacy
Password Management Strategy
Create a master inventory that includes:
- Website or service name
- Username or email address used
- Whether two-factor authentication is enabled
- Recovery email addresses
- Security questions and answers
- Notes about account importance or special instructions
Digital Asset Documentation
Beyond passwords, catalog what matters most:
- Photo collections and their storage locations
- Important documents stored digitally
- Subscriptions that should be canceled immediately
- Accounts with monetary value (unused gift cards, loyalty points, cryptocurrency)
- Social media accounts and your wishes for memorial or deletion
- Business accounts requiring immediate attention
Platform-Specific Legacy Planning
Major platforms offer different memorial options:
- Google: Legacy Contact feature allows designated people to access your account
- Facebook/Meta: Memorial accounts or complete account deletion options
- Apple: Digital Legacy Contact can access your iCloud account and stored data
- Microsoft: Next of Kin process for Outlook and OneDrive access
Set these up proactively—they become much more complicated to navigate after the fact.
Legal Considerations for Canadian Families
Digital estate laws vary significantly across Canadian provinces, and the legal landscape continues evolving. Unlike physical assets, digital assets are often governed by complex terms of service agreements that can override traditional inheritance laws.
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) protects digital privacy but can create challenges for family members trying to access accounts. Some provinces, like British Columbia and Alberta, have updated their estate laws to address digital assets, while others rely on older legislation that doesn’t explicitly cover digital property.
Privacy concerns under Canadian law mean that even immediate family members may face restrictions accessing certain accounts without proper legal documentation. This makes advance planning even more critical for Canadian families.
Consider consulting with an estate lawyer familiar with digital assets, especially if you have significant online investments, cryptocurrency, or business accounts.
The Growing Threat: Fraud and Digital Vulnerability
Canadian seniors face particular vulnerability in the digital space. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, in 2024 there were 49,432 reports of fraud with $638 million lost. Fraud has become the number one crime against older Canadians, with scammers often targeting seniors because they perceive them as having more wealth while being less familiar with digital technologies.
This vulnerability makes digital estate planning even more urgent. Warning signs that immediate planning is needed:
- Frequent forgotten passwords leading to locked accounts
- Multiple failed login attempts
- Confusion about online subscriptions or automatic payments
- Difficulty managing two-factor authentication
- Concerns about online scams or fraud attempts
- Reports of suspicious phone calls or emails requesting personal information
Practical Guidance for Canadian Families
Having “The Conversation”
Many adult children find it challenging to discuss digital death planning with aging parents. Effective approaches:
- Frame it as protecting family memories, not preparing for death
- Share your own digital organization efforts first
- Offer to help with technical aspects
- Emphasize the peace of mind and family protection it provides
- Start with small, manageable steps
Support Resources
- Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP): Digital literacy resources specifically for seniors
- Provincial Seniors’ Services: Often provide technology support and digital skills training
- Local Libraries: Frequently offer digital skills workshops designed for older adults
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: Resources for online safety and fraud prevention
- Get Cyber Safe: National public awareness campaign with practical guides for avoiding cyber scams
Moving Forward: Your Action Plan
Digital estate planning isn’t about technology—it’s about love and protection. By organizing your digital life now, you’re ensuring that your family’s focus can be on grieving and celebrating your life, not wrestling with forgotten passwords, locked accounts, or potential fraud vulnerabilities that could compromise your legacy.
Start Small: Begin with your most important accounts—banking, primary email, and photo storage. Perfection isn’t the goal; preparation is.
Be Patient: This process typically takes several weeks. Work at your own pace and don’t feel overwhelmed by the scope.
Remember the Why: Any planning is infinitely better than none. Your family will thank you for this thoughtful gift, and you’ll have peace of mind knowing your digital legacy is secure.
In a world where our most precious memories live in the cloud, taking control of your digital end-of-life planning is one of the most caring things you can do for the people you love. The goal isn’t to master every technical detail—it’s to ensure that when the time comes for your final logout, your digital legacy remains a source of comfort and connection, not confusion and frustration.
Research indicates that only about one-third of Canadians have up-to-date wills, and digital assets are rarely properly accounted for in estate planning. For many Canadian families, this means precious digital memories and valuable online accounts could be lost forever—unless we take action today.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Canadian Internet Use Survey, 2022 – “Canadian seniors more connected than ever” – https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/4288-canadian-seniors-more-connected-ever NordPass, “How many passwords does the average person have?” 2024 – https://nordpass.com/blog/how-many-passwords-does-average-person-have/ EarthWeb, “Password Reuse Statistics 2024: 65% of People…” – https://earthweb.com/blog/password-reuse-statistics/ AllAboutCookies, “The Best Password Managers for Seniors 2025” – https://allaboutcookies.org/easiest-password-managers-for-seniors RBC Wealth Management, “Redefining your estate in the digital age,” November 2023 – https://www.rbcwealthmanagement.com/en-ca/insights/redefining-your-estate-in-the-digital-age MD Financial Management, “Navigating the digital frontier: Estate planning for digital assets in Canada” – https://invested.mdm.ca/estate-planning-for-digital-assets-canada/ North Shore News, “Older and Wiser: Protect yourself against fraud and scams,” 2024 – https://www.nsnews.com/opinion/older-and-wiser-protect-yourself-against-fraud-and-scams-10567244