What happens to your online accounts when you die?

WASHINGTON (AP) — When you die, should your loved ones have access to your Facebook, Gmail and other online accounts?

A group of influential lawyers says yes, unless you specify otherwise in a will. The Uniform Law Commission, whose members are appointed by state governments to help standardize state laws, was expected to endorse a plan Wednesday to automatically give loved ones access to — but not control of — all digital accounts unless otherwise specified.

To become law in a state, the legislation would have to be adopted by the state’s legislature. But if it does, designating such access could become an important tool in estate planning, allowing people to decide which accounts should die when they do.

The plan is likely to frustrate some privacy advocates, who say people shouldn’t have to draft a will to keep their mom from reviewing their online dating profile or a spouse from reading every email they ever wrote.

“This is something most people don’t think of until they are faced with it. They have no idea what is about to be lost,” said Karen Williams of Beaverton, Oregon, who sued Facebook for access to her 22-year-old son Loren’s account after he died in a 2005 motorcycle accident.

The question of what to do with one’s “digital assets” is as big as America’s electronic footprint. Grieving relatives want access for sentimental reasons, and to settle financial issues. A person’s online musings, photos and videos — such as a popular cooking blog or a gaming avatar that has acquired a certain status online — also can be worth money. Imagine the trove of digital files being amassed by someone of historical value — say former President Bill Clinton or musician Bob Dylan — and what those files might fetch on an auction block.