When someone dies, their family may know where to find their house, vehicle and other physical belongings, but figuring out what happens to years of photos, emails and social-media accounts can be considerably more complicated.

For people in Slave Lake and the surrounding area, planning for those digital belongings could help make things easier for family members and executors after a death, according to a Northern Alberta lawyer.

Conner S. Fitchie, a partner with Mathieu Hryniuk LLP, said people should consider making a record of the passwords and other information that may eventually be needed to access their email, social-media accounts and other digital assets.

The firm has an office in Slave Lake and serves communities throughout the Peace Country and Lesser Slave Lake region.
Fitchie said people could keep the information in a secure location, such as a safe or safety deposit box, where an eventual executor can access it.

That can be particularly important for people who want family members to be able to retrieve photographs and other memories stored on a cellphone or in the cloud.

“Some people want to know that their family will be able to access their photos,” Fitchie said.

In some cases, access to a cellphone itself may be important, since a phone can contain photographs, messages and other information, while also serving as a gateway to accounts protected by additional security measures.

Fitchie said people who want their social-media accounts deleted after their death may also need to ensure that a trusted person has the necessary passwords, email addresses and potentially access to their cellphone. But that approach comes with its own risks.

“I always stress the importance of being absolutely confident that you can trust the individual receiving this access,” Fitchie said.

The issue is becoming more complicated as technology companies introduce stronger security measures.

Alberta’s Law Reform Institute (ALRI) has identified access to digital assets as an emerging estate-planning issue. Its 2024 report said digital assets can include family photographs, records, email, social-media accounts, websites, cryptocurrency and other information stored with online service providers.

ALRI recommended new legislation to clarify that fiduciaries’ existing powers should extend to digital assets.

The issue also reached an Alberta courtroom this year.In Wada Estate (Re), 2026 ABKB 309, the parents/administrators of a deceased individual were initially unable to obtain access to his Apple account despite holding a legal Grant of Administration.

Apple required them to obtain a further specific court order before granting access. The Court of King’s Bench of Alberta ultimately ruled in favour of the parents, admonishing risk-averse tech companies for demanding redundant court orders and confirming that standard Grants of Administration provide full legal authority over digital assets.

According to the Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI), the case illustrates the difficulties families face when online service providers enforce their own internal procedures, underscoring the need for a formal legal framework to streamline access for legal estate administrators.

For now, Fitchie said digital assets are something he generally discusses with clients according to their individual circumstances.

“Many older clients don’t currently have significant digital assets they’re overly concerned about,” he said.

He said the issue is a more consistent concern among clients roughly between 50 and 60, who may be more technologically inclined while also having had years to accumulate sentimental photographs, videos and other digital material.

For clients who are concerned, instructions can be included in their estate planning, Fitchie said. If they are not concerned about digital assets, the executor may administer them at their discretion.

Alberta recommends that adults have a will, personal directive and enduring power of attorney.

The province says a personal representative — either an executor or administrator — is generally responsible for locating estate assets, paying debts and funeral costs and distributing estate property to beneficiaries.

Digital assets can also have financial value. Fitchie specifically warned about cryptocurrency, noting that some cryptocurrency is held in “cold wallets” and could potentially be lost when someone dies if their estate has no way of identifying or accessing it.

He said cryptocurrency is an area where more people, particularly younger people who may not yet have wills, need to consider estate planning.

For Slave Lake residents, the basic lesson is relatively simple: making a will may not be enough if nobody knows what digital accounts and assets exist or how they can be accessed.

A secure record of important account information, combined with clear instructions in an estate plan and a trusted person who knows where that information can be found, could help prevent family members from having to solve those problems while they are already dealing with a death.

William Hetherington
Lakeside Leader