In today’s digital age, an increasing amount of our lives are being lived online. From social media profiles and email accounts to digital currencies and online businesses, digital assets have become a significant part of our existence. As these online elements continue to grow in importance, it’s crucial to understand their implications in estate planning. Incorporating digital assets into your estate planning is not only essential but can also present unique challenges.
Digital assets encompass a wide variety of online properties. Common ones include personal assets such as social media profiles, blogs, digital photos, and music libraries. Others might be financial in nature like digital currencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.), online bank accounts, and online investment portfolios. Business owners might also have digital business assets, like domain names, website content, customer databases, and digital intellectual property.
As these assets continue to grow both in volume and value, traditional estate planning strategies are evolving to accommodate them. However, including digital assets in your estate plan can pose unique challenges. In the famous case of Yahoo refusing access to a deceased soldier’s email account to his family in 2005, the issue of digital assets’ ownership after death came to the fore. Even though we’ve come a long way since then, with laws evolving to protect digital assets, there are still legal hurdles and privacy concerns that need careful navigation. The wide variety of digital platforms and their varying terms of service make this even more complex.
Here are a few tips on how you can start incorporating digital assets into your estate plan:
1. Catalog Your Digital Assets: Make a comprehensive list of your digital assets, including account names, online platforms, and access details (like passwords). Keep this list secure and up-to-date.
2. Understand Terms of Service: Different online platforms have different rules about what happens to an account after the owner’s death. Familiarize yourself with these terms and plan accordingly.
3. Include Digital Assets in Your Will: Explicitly include digital assets in your will and provide instructions on how you want them handled. However, remember not to put passwords in your will as it becomes a public document after death.
4. Appoint a Digital Executor: Appoint a trusted person as your “digital executor” who will be responsible for managing your online presence after death.
5. Seek Legal Counsel: Given the complex nature of digital assets and the evolving legal landscape, it’s advisable to seek the counsel of an attorney experienced in estate planning.
While it can be overwhelming to consider digital assets in your estate planning, it’s a necessary step in our increasingly digital world. A knowledgeable family law and estate planning attorney like Michael Rosenberg can guide you through this process and help ensure your digital legacy is preserved according to your wishes. As digital assets continue to grow in importance, understanding their role in estate planning is a crucial step towards safeguarding your online legacy. If you are interested in securing your digital assets, call Michael at (856) 350-6150 to schedule a consultation today.