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What happens to my domain, website and email when I die?

A lot of folks suggest getting your own domain name for having control over your online presence but the question that I have always had is what would happen to them when I die?

Wouldn't the domains eventually expire and anyone else would be able to register it and access my email attached to that domain? With that email, they can theoretically get into all my accounts which don't have 2FA on (a lot of the sites just don't have the option to turn on 2FA) via the 'Forgot my password' services?

Similarly, if I have a blog or website that I have poured my heart and soul into for my entire life, wouldn't that just go down forever when the domain expires? Maybe services like The Internet Archive would help in that regard but I don't know how many people are actively searching for an archived version of a website when they can't access it on it's actual domain.

I understand that after I die, all of this wouldn't by my concern and wouldn't matter but I still think about this a lot.

To the people who have their own domain, email and/or blogs, what are your thoughts on this?

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  • I started blogging in 1997 and still do today, and I would love for my writing and posts to live on after me, so I've been thinking more and more about this issue... Right now my idea is to write up a document about what needs to happen for it to continue, and hope my children consider it a worthwhile effort.

    • you could conceivably establish a trust to maintain the content's online presence etc.

    • Would you care to link it, please? Or at least send it to me in a DM? I'd love to read.

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