Creating an Estate Plan? Do Not Forget About Digital Assets

ISLANDIA, N.Y. - June 24, 2020 - PRLog -- When creating an estate plan, you may first think about appointing a guardian for your minor children, or whom you want to receive your tangible assets. While these are extremely important aspects of any estate plan, there are other elements you should consider adding to your plan, including your digital assets.

Digital assets are those that are intangible and do not have a physical form, including email accounts, subscription services, social media profiles, and even storage of documents and pictures. These assets have unique complexities when including them in your estate plan, but it is important you do so you retain control over your entire estate.

The Challenge of Digital Assets

Digital assets certainly have unique complications when trying to plan for them. The first challenge is that these assets are password-protected and the second is that people often do not consider these assets when creating their estate plan. Passwords are meant to protect your privacy when being active online, but those privacy measures present a real problem after you die.

Due to the fact that people overlook their digital assets when creating an estate plan, they do not tell people what the passwords are to unlock those assets. Informing an executor or power of attorney of these passwords is an important step in estate planning for digital assets, but there are other steps you should take, as well.

Steps to Take when Including Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan

When planning for your digital assets, there are four steps to take. These include:

● Create a list: It is crucial to create a list of all of your digital assets, including computing hardware, information that is stored electronically, online accounts, domain names, and intellectual property.

● Store the information: Creating a list of all of your digital assets and the information for each of them does little good if no one can access it. Keep your list in an online storage service, with your attorney, or with your named executor.

● Make your wishes clear: Your wishes for your digital assets may differ, depending on the assets you own. For example, you may want to memorialize your profile on Facebook, or you may want someone to delete your Twitter account. No matter what you want to happen with your digital assets, you must outline your wishes clearly.

● Formalize the plan: Unless you have a will, you may still not be able to dictate what happens to your digital assets after your death. Speak to an attorney who can help you draft a legal will that includes all of your assets and that will be deemed enforceable by the courts.

Continue reading: https://www.cgelaw.com/blog/2020/6/24/creating-an-estate-plan-do-not-forget-about-digital-assets