While any user of technology is impacted by digital estate planning (either because they are planning or because they are not planning), few have the technical literacy to manage their digital assets. These skills are necessary to plan for the future of those assets, which is what is then defined in an estate plan. In order to move into digital management and future planning, this Networked Mortality blog series will have several posts on topics such as password managers and digital media assets, which go through this arc of explanation.

We’re going to assume some things about our user base, of which readers of this series are a part, or are supporting someone who is:

• Low/negative desire to try new technologies, especially when complicated.
• Interact with one or two devices, which other people likely have access to.
• Deal with memory loss or other cognitive impairments.
• Any threats tend to fall within the elder abuse model.

And we’re going to assume some things about our purpose.

• Autonomy should be advocated for whenever possible.
• Privacy is important.
• We should respect an individual’s wishes.
• Death is a community-centric event.

From this perspective, the first set of blog entries will start tomorrow – using password managers for estate planning. The first will cover what password managers are for this audience (literacy), the second how to adapt or set up a password manager for estate planning (management), a third on how to consider choices to be made when doing that set up (future planning), and finally a checklist with extra credit will be offered for individuals to execute.