When you are preparing for your eventual passing, there are many considerations that may come to mind. You may think about planning out your Will or deciding who you want to have as the guardian of your children. However, one aspect that is often forgotten about is what you want to do with your digital assets.
You may be wondering, what is a digital asset? A digital asset is any content that you or someone you know has put online about you. This includes things like photos, videos, or written text about you that are stored digitally, often on mediums like social media. When you die, your digital assets become your Digital Legacy, as it is what you have left behind in the digital world after dying.
Now that you know what your digital assets are and what a Digital Legacy is, you may now be considering how you feel about having a Digital Legacy. For some people, they may find comfort in knowing they have left a Digital Legacy behind and that the content they have shared digitally will still be there to view by others. However, some of you may find the idea of leaving behind a Digital Legacy uncomfortable and may be wondering what you can do to decrease your Digital Legacy on things like social media accounts.
In this article, Trust & Will is going to explore how you can decrease your Digital Legacy, specifically on Twitter, by giving you steps on how you can have your Twitter account deactivated after you pass away.
How to Deactivate a Twitter Account in the Event of Death
Once you die, your Twitter account will remain active and accessible unless you deactivate it. This can be an issue for those who do not want to have a Digital Legacy on Twitter after they pass away. If your account is not deactivated after you are deceased, then it leaves the account active and open for the possibility of others hacking your account. This can be an issue as people could use your account after you pass and alter your Digital Legacy. This can be an issue because people then have the chance to change people’s perception of you without you having any control over it. Luckily, Trust & Will is here to help explain the necessary steps that must be taken to ensure that your account can be deactivated in the event of your death.
The first thing that you will need to address to ensure that your account can be deactivated in the event of your death is deciding who will be in charge of getting your account deactivated. There are two ways to go about this.
The first way to do it is to give the responsibility to your Executor of Estate, which is the court appointed institution or person whose responsibility is carrying out your Will after you die. Before you die, you can make sure to give them the necessary documentation to deactivate your Twitter account to make it their responsibility.
If you do not want to make your Executor of Estate in charge of deactivating your Twitter account, or for some reason your Executor of Estate does not possess the necessary documentation to do so, you can also have a verified immediate member of your family request to have your account deactivated on Twitter.
As is discussed on Twitter’s help center, there is a list of documents that will be needed to deactivate your account in the event of your death. Below, Trust & Will goes into further detail on the exact information someone will need to deactivate your Twitter account on your behalf.
First, they will need to submit a request to deactivate your account. From there, Twitter will contact the requester for further information. They will first ask for information about the deceased. This information will be basic information on the deceased, along with their username for their Twitter account.
The second thing the person requesting to deactivate your account on your behalf will need is a copy of your death certificate. This is needed to provide legal proof that you are truly deceased and to ensure that someone else is not trying to close your account prematurely. Twitter needs to be able to verify that you did indeed pass away.
Finally, the person requesting to deactivate your account will need to provide proof of their own identification. They will first and foremost need a copy of their ID. However, depending on who is submitting the request, the information needed in addition to a copy of their ID will be different. If they are an immediate family member submitting the request, then they will need more information to prove their relationship to you. However, if it is your Executor of Estate submitting the request, they will need documentation giving them authorization to deactivate your account.
Once Twitter has obtained all of the above information, they will then verify that it is all legitimate. Twitter makes sure to verify all the provided information to ensure they do not deactivate the account of someone who is still alive. Once the information is verified, Twitter will then deactivate your account.
It is important to note that once you are deceased, Twitter cannot grant access to your account to anyone, even family members. If you would like to give access to your account to family members in the event of your death, consider sharing your login and password information with them.
It can be time consuming and difficult to go through all of the necessary steps needed to plan for your death, and this includes taking care of your Digital Legacy. Trust & Will understands how confusing planning can be and is here to help you take care of your future and make it easier and less stressful with our online quiz. Is there a question here we didn’t answer? Reach out to us today or chat with a live member support representative!
Trust & Will is an online service providing legal forms and information. We are not a law firm and we do not provide legal advice.
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