The decision to end life is difficult to face. Although two-thirds of millennials are willing, only two-fifths have a clear understanding of their digital accounts.

Eileen Brown is a social business consultant who has worked in collaboration technology for 20 years. Eileen created a social business, injected vitality into the community, and ignited social commerce and social CRM.

With the spread of COVID-19, many American millennials have finally begun their estate planning. However, according to the latest research by Canadian security and privacy company 1Password, if their parents die, many of them will not be able to obtain correct digital information.

It worked with digital heritage planning companies Trust & Will and Willful to survey 1,000 American millennials aged 25-40 to obtain their Great Wake up Call Report.

It wants to discover how this generation protects important files and passwords, and stores and transmits digital assets before and after death. 

More than two-thirds (68%) of millennials have no wills, and less than two-fifths (38%) of millennials provide clear guidance on how they want to manage digital accounts after death.

The report shows that although nearly three-quarters (72%) of American millennials have wills created or updated in the past year, only 3% of their wills contain online passwords.

The traditional way of protecting important documents still dominates our behavior. More than four-fifths (81%) of millennials said they keep important documents such as birth certificates in physical locations such as filing cabinets, safes or safes.

Regarding online security, more than half (51%) of respondents said that they store passwords by memorizing, and 25% of respondents store passwords on a piece of paper. 20% of respondents use a password manager.

More than half (57%) of American millennials believe that giving executives access to their social media accounts is more important than accessing their email, subscription or shopping accounts (such as Amazon or Target).

However, sharing credentials with bank/financial accounts is still the top priority (67%).

Millennials still need to have difficult conversations with their parents. More than half (52%) of the respondents admitted that they had never discussed digital switching with their parents or did not remember the conversation.

Among the respondents who have executed their wills, six in ten (63%) said that accessing the deceased’s account was more difficult than expected.

Although more than half (51%) will be responsible for the execution of their parents’ wills, only one-third (36%) of respondents know or have access to their parents’ passwords for their online accounts.

When asked how they shared passwords, two-fifths (41%) said it through a written list, followed by 39% verbally, and 25% said it via email, cloud Google Docs, PDF or similar platforms. Ironically, sharing passwords is becoming more and more important for granting loved ones access to your digital heritage after you die.

Jeff Shiner, CEO of 1Password, said: “Millennials are particularly at the brunt of these ever-changing pressures because they have to balance their responsibilities to their growing family and take care of their elderly parents. Transition planning has long been a taboo topic, but it is time to remove the stigma of these discussions and ensure that our digital lives are in order, so the responsibility will not fall on others."

The COCID-19 pandemic allows us to think more deeply about our mortality rate, but how do we ensure that we ensure the smooth handover of our property — especially those digital platforms where we spend more and more time.

According to the report, due to poor management of the will, the offspring of the millennial generation surveyed will lose an estimated average of US$22,500.

Creating a way to manage digital handover means that someone authorized to act on your behalf at the time of your death can ensure that your wishes are fully implemented.

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