Digital inheritance: accessing the deceased’s electronic correspondence

Digital inheritance: accessing the deceased’s electronic correspondence

Who is entitled to access the correspondence, and how?

How to access the deceased’s electronic correspondence

There are two main issues when it comes to accessing the deceased’s correspondence: first, the protection of post-mortem privacy rights, i.e., the right to keep one’s correspondence private even after death, in relation to the heirs; and second, the inheritance rights of the heirs, which can be exercised by accessing the deceased’s correspondence to review it for personal, emotional, economic, or commercial purposes, especially if the correspondence contains details about negotiations or business deals that were intended to be concluded by the heirs.

In practical terms, this right is exercised by entering the login credentials for the deceased's email account.

If the deceased person has made arrangements to allow access to their profiles after death, such as sharing passwords through the legal methods specified below, the heirs will not face any obstacles in this regard.

However, if the deceased did not provide the access credentials (for example, in the case of an untimely death), the heirs may encounter difficulties, particularly because of the lack of specific and common regulations in the contracts signed by the deceased with various online service providers.

Therefore, in the absence of uniform regulation, it is necessary to first verify what the terms of service of online platforms say about accessing the deceased’s correspondence.

Specifically, some platforms allow access to the deceased’s electronic correspondence upon presentation of the death certificate by the heirs, such as Hotmail, while others provide the login credentials directly to the heirs.

To avoid the risk of various platforms denying access to the deceased's data due to changes in their terms and conditions, it is advisable for the individual to entrust their credentials to a professional (who would act as the principal) to ensure the heirs can access and manage any economic transactions contained in the deceased’s email.

An Inheritance Agency could be the ideal partner for such a complex matter, especially when the heirs are numerous and do not communicate with one another. To receive free advice, you must fill out the form.