Ever wondered what happens to all of your online accounts after you die?

Here are a few tips on how to handle your computer files to make handling your affairs easier for your survivors.

Make a list: Keep a comprehensive list of pasword-protected files and accounts that are on your home computer, including e-mail and personal finance files.  Give the list, along with user names and passwords, to a relative, or put it in a safe-deposit box.  Be sure to update the list when passwords change or new acounts are added.

Back it up: Make a frequent backup of your important computer files on a disk and keep it with your papers in case your survivors cannot access the files on your hard drive.  Unless specifically instructed to do so, your executor may not go through your computer files for several days or weeks until after your death.

Print it out: Even if you use electronic bill paying and online banking, print out monthly or quarterly statements and keep them with your personal papers.  If your executor or lawyer needs to get a password from your bank, it helps to have paper records of your account information at hand.

Keep it separate: If you keep work-related documents on your home computer, protect them with a password that is different from the one for your personal files.  Information on how to gain access to your work files should be left with your employer's computer department.

Be specific: If valuable documents are saved on your hard drive, leave instructions on who should get them if someone else is to receive the computer or if the machine might be donated.

Delete it: Always assume someone will be going through your files after your death. If you don't want certain information known, make sure it's deleted.  Since deleted files can be recovered, you may want to consider buying and using a special "scrubbing" program.

If you'd like help ensuring that your online accounts will be easily accessible by your loved ones after you're gone (and that your private files stay private), contact a qualified attorney.

A recent article in the San Francisco Examiner details Congress's efforts to extend the estate tax.

The House voted Thursday to indefinitely extend a 45 percent inheritance tax on estates larger than $3.5 million, canceling a one-year repeal of the tax set to begin next month.  The health care debate in the Senate could put a long delay on the bill's passage.

According to the article, "Under current law, if someone inherits a $5 million estate in 2009, they would pay $675,000 in federal estate taxes, according to an analysis by Deloitte Tax. In 2010, they would pay no estate tax but the estate would be subject to a 15 percent capital gains tax. If they inherit the $5 million estate in 2011, they would pay $2,045,000 in estate taxes, according to the analysis.

"Under the House bill, they would pay $675,000 in estate taxes, regardless of which year the estate is inherited.

Currently, the tax affects few estates. In 2009, about 5,500 estates will be subject to the tax, according to projections from the Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank. That's 0.23 percent of all estates."

If you'd like help formulating an estate plan that minimizes estate taxes, contact a qualified attorney.