What happens to my site after I die?
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I would appreciate an explanation of the WordPress policy regarding the death of a blogger. My question became an issue when I read that Facebook essentially locks down a site after the owner’s death. In my opinion, the person’s family should have the right to access any and all blog content and should have the right to terminate, continue with new content or leave as is for however long they choose to do so. A clarification of this potential issue would be greatly appreciated, especially before I die. Thanks again, you guys are always the best.
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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What arrangements have you made? Many sites make it very difficult for anyone other than the account holder to access them and that can create problems for your executor and beneficiaries unless you plan in advance.
http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2013/04/13/google-and-data-after-death/
http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2010/07/22/your-digital-assets-after-death/ -
In my opinion, the person’s family should have the right to access any and all blog content and should have the right to terminate, continue with new content or leave as is for however long they choose to do so.
That’s based on the assumption that the dead person would choose to have that happen. In fact as a paralegal I can tell you that many people take steps to be sure their relatives do not gain access to any of their assets, digital and otherwise at all.
I have tagged this thread for a Staff response as we Volunteers don’t’ have a definitive answer for you re: WordPress.com accounts and as we are not allowed to create discussion threads on these technical support forums.
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I haven’t made any plans yet since I don’t know what the WP policy is in this matter. My feeling is we should be able to designate a trustee to make decisions about the site just like any other part of the estate.
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While you are waiting, note that you can use the process to add official users to your blog and assign one the Admin role so they have full access to the blog after your demise.
http://en.support.wordpress.com/adding-users/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/user-roles/ -
The Law on Digital Assets
Currently, there is no universal method for estate trustees or beneficiaries to access digital assets on behalf of the deceased. In Canada, the absence of both legislation and case law means estate trustees can be taking a step into the unknown. In the United States, Connecticut, Indiana, Idaho, Oklahoma and Rhode Island have developed legislation in the attempt to govern ownership of digital property. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/brian-sweigman/digital-assets_b_2606822.html -
Thanks, that’s helpful. I knew that was an option but it still begs the question of WP policy. I hope WP has more common sense than Facebook does and has a user-friendly policy in place.
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As I said above I have tagged this thread for a Staff response as we Volunteers don’t’ have a definitive answer for you re: WordPress.com accounts and as we are not allowed to create discussion threads on these technical support forums.
Please subscribe to the thread so you are notified when Staff respond and please be patient while waiting.
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I think I’m good for a few more days so I can wait for the staff response. Thanks for your help.
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This is from the support documents: http://en.support.wordpress.com/deceased-user/
Also as @TT has noted above not everyone wants next of kin to have access to certain assets, such as a blog here. The link does not address many issues and leaves many unanswered, such as the deceased user did not want next of kin to have access to a blog, how do they make sure that does not happen.
One way to allow an executor into an account would be to set up a new account with a SOLID password, the account is never given out but the access info is with the legal documents to be used only by an executor. I suggest a new account with password because a person might change passwords between the time the will and documents are set up and the info needed, a dormant account would not have any reason for a password change etc.
Please note – I am not a lawyer or connected with any law firm and have no legal training, so please consult the proper authorities
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It’s been mentioned above that you can give a trusted person your password, so they can log in as you after you die (and hopefully not before). Or you can make that person an administrator of the blog. Either of those should do the job.
Otherwise, unless there’s something in the terms of service that we all agreed to, I doubt that WordPress wants to make a decision about who gets the blog, unless they have an order from a probate court. That’s cumbersome and expensive, and I have no idea if a court would know what do do, because your blog probably isn’t mentioned in your will, and isn’t really the sort of asset a probate judge deals with. It seems best to make your own arrangements while you can.
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That answers my question for the most part. As long as we plan ahead it doesn’t appear that WP has an issue with our choice of disposition. All I want is the option to allow someone else of my choosing to have access to the content. If I make the necessary arrangements ahead of time there is nothing for WP to do but respect my wishes. This seems infinitely more workable than the way Facebook has chosen. Thanks to all.
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