Jeremy Toeman is out to change all that. Toeman is the founder of Legacy Locker, an online service that promises to protect your online assets and identity until it’s time to pass them on to a beneficiary of your choosing.

Toeman came up with the idea for Legacy Locker when the birth of his son and the death of his grandmother occurred within the same year, causing Toeman to focus intently on his own mortality and how his loved ones would attend to business matters when he died, given the digital lifestyle he leads. His grandmother, at the age of 94, was an avid computer user who emailed, played games online and used Google to search for information. When she passed, Toeman and his family were unable to access her email or let her online friends know she was gone. When Toeman considered the value of his own digital assets, he knew he needed a solution, and he saw an opportunity to fill a growing need.

Virtual Safe Deposit Box
With Legacy Locker, users pay a fee to store their account numbers, passwords, user names, etc. online. For every item stored, the user can designate a beneficiary to receive that information following the user’s demise. The user then names a trusted verifier who will contact the website when the user dies, and Legacy Locker will release the user’s information to the appropriate beneficiaries.

And Legacy Locker is just one company of several companies that promise to facilitate the storage, security and passing on of one’s online information. Similar to Legacy Locker, AssetLock (formerly YouDeparted.com) calls itself a “secure safe deposit box” for documents and information, while Deathswitch labels its services as “information insurance.” Slightly Morbid is a notification service that lets your online friends know when you’ve died so they won’t be left worrying and wondering why you suddenly disappeared.

Securing your digital information is as important as securing any other personal information – like wills, bank accounts, and property deeds, for example – so be sure to investigate a company or individual before you hand over your information to them. Make sure the company is trustworthy and that adequate security is in place.