Email addresses

What happens to your hotmail and yahoo account if you don't use it. How long does it remain intact before it's just wiped. And what about if you die, does someone/anyone/maybe your estate, have the right to access your account? And how many times does it take for you to get the name of your choice when you first open a hotmail account. I know I didn't - but at least, the letter and number combination I ended up hadn't been taken at the other free email providers either - so I've got the same one at yahoo, hotmail, gmail and optusnet. (And no, 6 email accounts is not excessive.)