Email - what happens when you die?
Every original work of authorship that is fixed in a tangible form is protected by copyright. That includes letters and - these days - email. Which means that when you die, those emails may be part of your estate.
Hmmm.
Is that something you want? Your executor (or next of kin) will already be poking through your underwear drawer. Will people also be able to read all your emails? The answer is: maybe.
If you keep email on your hard drive, then any files on it, including email, can be viewed after your death.
However, if you use a web based email service and store emails on their servers, then whether the email is accessible to others after your death depends in part on your wishes and in part on the policy of the email provider. Some email providers will not release email to anyone. Others will do so with specific documentation, or sometimes even a court order.
The bottom line is that if you want your email (and other types of internet accounts, as well) to be accessible to someone in the event of your death, then you need to leave your account information and passwords where they can be found when necessary. And if you do NOT want to have anyone reading your emails even after your death, then you’ll need to take specific steps, such as checking out the policy of your own email provider, or leaving instructions in your will that the executor is not to access or distribute your email accounts.
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