Working, shopping and communicating – our lives are increasingly shifting to the internet. Numerous services such as online banking, email accounts or social networks require a personal, usually password-protected profile. If you want to be sure that your data does not fall into the wrong hands if you are no longer able to care for it in the event of illness or death, you should take precautions during your lifetime. This can be regulated in a legally secure manner in a notarial power of attorney or a notarial will. In addition, the secure storage of access data ensures quick and easy access for heirs to online accounts.
“First of all, it is important to know that there is no digital special inheritance law,” explains Eric Rauschenbach, managing director of the Thuringia Chamber of Notaries. The highest court case law recently confirmed that digital inheritance must also be assessed according to the general regulations of inheritance law.
“The digital areas of life can be properly assessed using the existing norms of the 'analog' world,” says Rauschenbach. For example, the right to use data stored locally on the testator's data storage medium passes to the heirs along with ownership of the physical storage medium. If the data is stored externally, for example on a third-party server, the heirs are entitled to use it by automatically entering into the contract with the respective service provider.
However, the limit of the inheritability of data is reached when it affects the testator's very personal rights. After a person dies, their privacy continues to be protected. “ However, this differentiation is not a special feature of the digital estate, but is an expression of the general assessments of the legislator ,” explains Rauschenbach.
A digital estate can therefore be regulated in a power of attorney or in a will
The digital estate can therefore be regulated in a power of attorney or in a will, although it is advisable to consult a notary to create it. Not absolutely necessary, but useful for reasons of acceptance in legal transactions, it is advisable to include a regulation on the administration of the digital estate by the authorized representative in a power of attorney that is effective beyond death. A power of attorney exclusively for the digital area would also be conceivable. In relation to the authorized representative, the person giving the power of attorney can even give specific instructions on how the data or a usage relationship should be handled.
In addition, regulations regarding digital inheritance can also be included in a will or inheritance contract. For example, if you do not want certain heirs to have access to particularly sensitive data, this would have to be recorded in a will through a condition or the appointment of an executor. “For example, the executor could be instructed that certain data must be deleted or specific contractual relationships must be terminated without prior insight,” explains Rauschenbach.
In order to make it much easier for the heirs to access the testator's email account, for example, it can be a good idea to list all user accounts, passwords and any associated contractual relationships. To protect this important information from unauthorized access, it should be stored securely.
“It is not advisable to include all access data, for example in the power of attorney, as any change or addition to passwords would require new documents ,” explains Rauschenbach. A more practical solution would be to record the list of access data on an encrypted and password-protected local storage medium and to hand over the “master password” to a trusted person. Notaries can also be considered for this, as they can be instructed in a so-called “digital power of attorney” to only release the master password to certain people under certain conditions. Due to the notaries' professional duty of confidentiality, a particularly high level of protection is achieved.
Source: Hamburg Chamber of Notaries
Related to the topic: Do the deceased continue to live on Facebook?
If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:
📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.
Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!
* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

