There are not many laws on the books about what happens to our online accounts. Much of what will happen to them is spelled out in the "Terms of Service" for each service we have signed up for. The Terms of Service is the legalese that we all click "Agree" to when signing up for an account. I must admit I have never read any of them and I'm pretty sure that most of you have not either. Sometimes those "Terms of Service" limit what we can and can not do but to help you to start thinking about it here is a check list of what you might want to think about and eventually put it in writing for your heirs.

Accounts:

• Online backup (aka Cloud backup) (Carbonite, Mozy, iDrive, etc.)
• Email (AOL, Apple, Comcast, Google, Microsoft, Verizon, Yahoo, etc.)
• Domain names ([email protected]) (1and1, Network Solutions, GoDaddy, etc.)
• Online shopping (Amazon, eBay, PayPal, etc.)
• Social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.)
• Travel (Airline frequent flyer programs, hotel programs, etc.) 
• Healthcare (medical, dental, etc.)
• Insurance (Auto, Home, Life, etc.)

What do you want done with the account?:

• Close the account
• Memorialize the account, if available (see Facebook)
• Change the name on the account to my spouse or heir (may not be possible)
• Leave the account open, in my name, with control taken over by my spouse or heir. If there is a fee for the account have you provided funds for this.