An Asset Protection Planning Team in California Explains How to Plan for Virtual Assets

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - April 21, 2014 - PRLog -- ORANGE COUNTY, CA – April 21, 2014 – Dwight Edward Tompkins is founder of Tompkins Law, an asset protection planning firm in California.  They help many California residents plan their estate.  Dwight recently blogged about planning for virtual assets; he explains, “In order to become a virtual asset, a digital item must be characterized by four traits:durability – the item is not of a temporary duration, property rights – the item is legally owned by a certain person, transferability – these rights can be legally transferred to a third party, and value – the item holds value to at least one other person, whether it is market value or sentimental value.”

Virtual assets are becoming more and more common due to the increased use of technology.  The definition of virtual assets is clear, but very broad.  Many items now fall under the category, “virtual.”  Dwight states, “We have accounts on social media websites where we post personal thoughts and opinions; we have email accounts where people can browse through our personal correspondence as they would when going through our mail; or perhaps we have an online blog which we use to broadcast articles on various topics.”

The previously listed items from Dwight’s blog all have an emotional value, but not so much a monetary value.  However, Dwight also touches on the fact that virtual assets can very well have a monetary value.  He says, “Some people have their own small Internet business, or own a website which generates money from ads. Similarly, money can be gained from copyrights.   Last but not least, we are talking about subscriptions to various websites, license keys for various software, and even accounts to online games – which can be sold or may contain items that could fetch a pretty good price on the market.”

Dwight’s recent blog post may hit close to home for some individuals.  It is important to think about all types of assets when planning an estate.  A professional asset protection planning team in California (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfA2qikZ7Lk) can help you understand this topic in more detail.



For more information on this topic or to contact Tompkins Law visit this blog post here:

http://blog.tompkins-law.com/2014/04/how-to-estate-plan-for-virtual-assets.html

About Tompkins Law

Tompkins Law has been assisting residents in the Orange County, California and the surrounding areas with estate planning, probate, living trust, and business planning services for over 20 years.  Visit http://www.tompkins-law.com/ today for more information.