Nowadays, our identity is closely linked to our email address. In many cases, it may even be more important than our phone number or physical address. That’s why ensuring that our family has access to our email account is essential to making things easier for them in the future.
Without access to your email account, you could lose, among other things, the ability to reset passwords for other services.
In my case, I use a paid email address. Unlike most people who rely on "free" services like Gmail or Apple, I chose years ago to go with a provider specialized in email: Fastmail. This decision is based on the importance of not losing access to my account, both personally and professionally. Additionally, the ability to contact Fastmail’s customer support in case of issues is a significant advantage. Good luck if you ever need to reach Google.
I consider this expense a necessary investment.
Just as a curiosity, the oldest email I still have is from 2003 (22 years of emails!). I have approximately 60,000 received emails and 21,000 sent, with my entire account taking up 12GB of storage.
To ensure uninterrupted service, I’ve updated the card used for the annual payment, guaranteeing that there won’t be any issues with future renewals. Likewise, my family will have access to my credentials, allowing them to manage any important communication that arrives in my inbox.