Legacy Locker: Online Safety Deposit Box For Digital Assets

Legacy Locker, based in San Francisco, operates like an online safety deposit box, which gives a customer's loved ones easy access to digital assets once he or she passes away. Acting as an electronic repository for passwords, access codes and digital assets, the service backs up, stores and then safely transfers electronic information to the customer's chosen survivors should the user die or become incapacitated.

"We see Legacy Locker filling a serious unmet need considering the modern, digital lifestyle," said Jeremy Toeman, founder of Legacy Locker, in a statement. "It's not fun to think about, but the reality is most Web-based companies have no provision for managing your accounts in the event of your passing."

Users enter online account information in their "locker" for e-mail addresses, file sharing, online photo albums, social networking sites, PayPal and other sites requiring log-in credentials. For every account, users assign a beneficiary with whom they entrust their digital assets. Then, if the user passes away, their assets are electronically delivered to the designated beneficiaries.

The site is similar to an electronic will, but applies to digital, as opposed to physical, assets. Account holders can add multiple assets and create as many beneficiaries as they like. A user can also choose to send his or her loved ones an e-mail "Legacy Letter," which is automatically sent to chosen friends and relatives of the customer after the death is reported. The product also offers a form of a living will, turning on autoreplies, and idles customers' accounts without sending out final farewells.

In addition to working directly with consumers, Legacy Locker is targeting professional estate planners to make online accounts an inherent part of the estate planning process. Among other demographics, the service is targeting the more than 12 million U.S. households with children that have established wills using estate planners or through downloaded software.

The service, which will become available in April, is offered at $29.99 per year, or $299.99 for a lifetime subscription, and will include free trial accounts.