What happens to my accounts and data when I die in Germany?
In short
What happens to my accounts and data when I die in Germany? Your contracts with mail, cloud and social media providers pass to your heirs like the rest of your estate, as the Federal Court of Justice ruled in 2018. Without a list and power of attorney, access often takes months. Planning is cheap: registering a power of attorney costs EUR 24 once, and there is no specific insurance.
Costs of planning and suitable add ons in Germany, October 2026.
Example
Typical range
Power of attorney in the central register, online with direct debit
EUR 24 once
Entry in the central register of wills via a notary
EUR 12.50 per person
Private cyber insurance, basic plans
from about EUR 45 a year
Funeral cover EUR 7,000, joining at 60
about EUR 35 to 39 a month
Register fees from the Federal Chamber of Notaries, premiums from published plan examples,
October 2026.
Which plans include a deletion service is a guide value from our quoting practice;
we obtain the exact quote.
Worked example
A family without a list
A man dies at 58. His wife only knows the bank account. Through debits she finds seven subscriptions and two cloud accounts, and she needs an Erbschein.
Subscriptions until cancelled, three months
about EUR 180
Wait for access to the photo cloud
several months
Planning with registered power of attorney
EUR 24
With a list and a registered power of attorney she could have cancelled at once and saved the photos. Amounts are guide values from our quoting practice.
What legally happens to your accounts and data
On death, your estate passes as a whole to your heirs. In 2018 the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) ruled that this includes the contract for a social media account. Heirs are entitled to access it, including stored messages.
The same applies to mailboxes, cloud storage and subscriptions. Paid subscriptions keep charging your bank account until heirs cancel them. Balances with payment services are part of the estate.
Why it still gets stuck in practice
Providers usually ask for a death certificate and a certificate of inheritance (Erbschein), often through their own forms. Without knowing which accounts exist, heirs often only find them through bank statements.
A password manager with emergency access or a sealed list of logins cuts this from months to days. Note for each account whether it should be deleted, archived or kept as a memorial page.
Account
What heirs need
Typical result without planning
Email
Erbschein or login details
bills and contracts stay hidden
Social media
Erbschein and a request to the provider
profile stays public
Cloud with photos
login details or Erbschein
data deleted after cancellation
Paid subscriptions
cancellation by heirs
charges continue
Which insurance helps with your digital estate
There is no insurance for your digital estate, because there is no insurable loss. Some private cyber policies and funeral expense plans (Sterbegeldversicherung) do include a service that finds accounts and has them deleted on request.
Judge such add ons soberly: a good list with a power of attorney does most of the work. Take out funeral cover only if you want to fund the funeral, not for the deletion service.
How to organise your accounts and data while alive
A lasting power of attorney (Vorsorgevollmacht) that expressly covers digital accounts and telecommunications secrecy helps even in case of illness. Register it in the central register (Zentrales Vorsorgeregister) so courts and doctors can find it.
For after your death, state in your will or in a power of attorney valid beyond death who should manage your accounts. A notarised will is recorded in the central register of wills, which registry offices notify on death.
Step by step
List every account with provider and purpose.
Decide for each: delete, archive or keep.
Set up emergency access in a password manager.
Grant a power of attorney that covers digital accounts and register it.
Update the list every year and say where it is kept.
Checklist
Account list complete and current
Power of attorney beyond death including digital accounts
Entry in the central register
Wishes for profiles and photos written down
Paid subscriptions and balances noted
Common mistakes
Writing passwords into the will, which many people read when it is opened
Sorting out the bank account and forgetting subscriptions
Relying on an insurance add on instead of keeping your own list
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
May heirs read the messages of the deceased?
Under the 2018 Federal Court of Justice ruling they are entitled to access the account,
including communications.
Must a social media profile be deleted after death?
No.
If you have not decided, the heirs choose between deletion and a memorial page.
Is there insurance for a digital estate?
No, only services in some cyber and funeral plans that find and delete accounts.
What does registering a power of attorney cost?
EUR 24 once online with direct debit, EUR 27 by post.
Do subscriptions continue after death?
Yes, until the heirs cancel.
Many providers accept the death certificate for this.
