How to Compare Digital Estate Planning Tools: What Actually Happens When Your Family Needs Access

Your family is grieving. They know your accounts exist but can't access any of them. Three companies say they can prevent this, but they solve very different problems.

We built Digital Directives because existing tools leave a dangerous gap. Here's an honest comparison so you can decide what's right for your situation.

What Each Tool Actually Does

Everplans ($99/year)

• Digital vault for storing documents, credentials, insurance details, medical wishes
• Lets you share sections with designated people
• Does NOT create legal documents
• Does NOT have legacy release mechanisms tied to verification
• No emotional legacy features (letters, messages, stories)
• Primarily a filing cabinet you can share

GoodTrust ($149 first year, then $39/year)

• Digital account management, social media, email, subscriptions
• Can create basic estate planning documents (wills, trusts)
• Digital executor designation for online accounts
• Bundled digital vault for document storage
• Unlimited collaborators
• US-focused; limited international applicability

NYLK Digital Directives

• Professional inventory of your entire digital life, every account, credential, subscription, crypto wallet, cloud storage
• Verified executor release, your Digital Directive is sealed and only released upon verified death, not just inactivity
• Legal companion document, works alongside your will, not instead of it
• Platform-specific release instructions (how to access each account, what to close, what to preserve)
• Works in any jurisdiction, not dependent on RUFADAA or US-specific legislation
• Born from real-world experience: NYLK exists because a family got locked out of everything

The Three-Layer Test

Every digital estate plan needs three layers. Most tools only handle one.

The gap: Everplans stores what you put in but can't verify when to release it. GoodTrust triggers on inactivity, which means a two-week holiday could trigger a false release. Digital Directives use verified executor release, because this is too important for guesswork.

The Australia Problem

If you're in Australia, the comparison gets simpler:

• Everplans: US-designed. No Australian legal integration.
• GoodTrust: US-focused. Estate documents follow US law.
• Digital Directives: Jurisdiction-agnostic. Works with Australian lawyers, Australian superannuation, Australian banking. Built for a country with zero digital estate legislation.

Australia has no RUFADAA equivalent. The NSW Law Reform Commission is reviewing digital assets but legislation is years away. Until then, you need an operational tool, not a legal one.

The Password Manager Question

"Can't I just use 1Password Emergency Access or Proton Pass?"

Password managers now offer emergency access features. Proton Pass lets trusted contacts access your entire suite, passwords, email, cloud storage, after a waiting period. 1Password and NordPass offer similar features.

But here's the gap:

• Password managers store credentials. They don't store instructions.
• What should your executor do with your Instagram? Delete it? Memorialize it? Download the photos first?
• Which subscriptions need cancelling? Which have ongoing charges?
• Where's the crypto seed phrase backup? (Not in the password manager.)
• What about accounts you access via SSO, no password stored at all?

A Digital Directive is the instruction manual. A password manager is one input. You need both.

What To Do Right Now

1. If you have nothing: Start with a Digital Directive. It's the foundation everything else builds on.
2. If you already use Everplans or GoodTrust: Good start. Now add a Digital Directive for the inventory and release layers they don't cover.
3. If you use a password manager: That's Layer 2a. You still need Layer 2b (instructions) and Layer 3 (verified release).

Your family shouldn't have to figure this out while they're grieving. [Build your Digital Directive →]