“Death in the age of technology, the internet and social media means people leave behind a lot more than furniture and clothes when they die,” the article states. “Some digital assets, like loyalty point accounts, have monetary value; others, such as Facebook profiles full of photos, status posts and anecdotes, are more personal.”

Popovic-Montag, managing partner of Hull & Hull LLP, says letting social media accounts sit idle after death could expose them to hackers and impersonators.

She tells Maclean’s she represented a client who experienced this happening after a loved one died.

“Someone hacked into the Facebook account and said terrible, terrible things. The family was just devastated,” Popovic-Montag says.

When it comes to credit cards and banking and trading accounts, Popovic-Montag tells AdvocateDaily.com that online access will generally remain unchanged until a financial institution is informed of the death of the account holder.

“Whether accounts will be frozen altogether upon notification of death varies by institution. Sometimes, accounts will remain active, with automatic withdrawals and transfers continuing until someone authorized to do so requests that such activity ceases,” she says.

While online bank access may remain available to a surviving family member or friend who has the deceased’s login information, Popovic-Montag says it is an entirely separate issue whether that person is authorized to access the account.

“Even if someone is appointed to act as estate trustee, it is important that they do not hold themselves out to be the deceased online and access accounts on that basis,” she tells the legal wire service. “Similarly, if someone is authorized to access bank accounts as an attorney named under a Power of Attorney for Property or as a court-appointed guardian of property, that authority ceases on the date of death.”

Once properly appointed as estate trustee, she says financial institutions will recognize one’s authority to access and administer online banking and investment accounts.

Popovic-Montag notes that if a person dies intestate and financial institutions are not made aware of the death, nothing will happen to these accounts in many cases until someone is appointed by the court to administer the estate.

“Bill payments, account fees, and other automatic withdrawals will continue until they are cancelled, and investment instructions will remain unchanged until they are changed by someone authorized to do so,” Popovic-Montag says.

“This may result in the estate incurring unnecessary expenses and account-related fees,” she adds.

Popovic-Montag recommends implementing a digital estate plan, which may not require much additional planning or notable expense to incorporate.

“This plan can make a meaningful difference to surviving family members after death — for example, being able to keep photographs stored on a password-protected computer or on the cloud rather than these assets being inaccessible or destroyed,” she says.