Digital Inheritance

What happens to all the bits of digital information when their owners die? Who inherits the email? More importantly -- what if somebody needs to access financial and other information that is significant, but password protected? Online possessions are not like physical properties and do not have any laws that govern what happens to all the information once their owner has kicked the bucket. Should family members or other inheritors have an access to this information? With more and more of our lives going digital everyday, the issue of digital inheritance is going to be an important one in the near future.