Task: Digital Accounts: Shopping & Payment/Money Management

We already covered Amazon in a separate task so think of other places like eBay, big box stores (Walmart, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond…), Etsy, and coupon sites (Groupon, Rakuten, Shopify, etc.).

We know big box stores might not seem like official digital accounts, but if you use them like Amazon and have auto-deliveries that need to be transferred, they’re close enough. Your level of usage should determine their fate, but it’s best to have them deleted unless there’s a reason to keep them around. Plus, if you have rewards due from coupon sites, explain how you use them so they don’t go to waste.

When it comes to offering instructions for payment and money management accounts, take heed: If it’s a payment account with money in it, it needs to be rolled up into your estate. For example, if you are a big time eBay seller, the person who commandeers your account can’t simply take that money. Well, they could but that would be illegal. Instead, your executor, which we covered in the Wills tasks is responsible for handling it. For this task, we’re only focusing on accounts you use to make payments, like PayPal or Venmo, they should most likely be deleted once you’re sure it’s not being used for anything on autopay.

For money management sites like Credit Karma (formerly Mint), Empower, Monarch, or Simplifi (also covered in a separate Financial Aggregation task), which are extremely handy for keeping track of your finances while you’re alive, are just as helpful for your executor when you’re gone. They can be used as a real-time checklist and monitoring system to see that the assets are being moved into new accounts and there aren't any new charges posting. Once all activity ceases, and they’re empty, they can be deleted.

Finally, crowdfunding accounts like Kickstarter or GoFundMe can inform your family about your charitable interests but should be deleted unless you leave behind instructions to donate to a cause through one of these platforms. If a member of your family sets up an account to raise funds to pay for your funeral, it should have nothing to do with your personal account.

Your Task

Identify all your shopping and payment/money management accounts, the level of importance for each account, what you want done with them after you’re gone, and how you plan on granting access. If you use a password manager you can write it directly in the notes field, if you use a digital document you can put it there, and last but not least you can put it in the Digital Accounts section of your Everplan.

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