More than ever, we rely on technology, the internet, and digital assets in our personal and work lives. Digital asset planning is an essential aspect of creating a comprehensive estate plan. Protecting your digital assets, including photos, videos, electronic records, and files stored online, can help you protect your assets and legacy after you pass away.
At Jones, Gregg, Creehan & Gerace LLP, we have a wealth of experience in helping clients create comprehensive estate plans that include careful digital asset planning. Our experience in estate planning and digital asset management is here to provide you with the answers you need and the protection your assets, including your digital ones, deserve.Â
Common Types of Digital Assets in Estate Planning
Digital assets include a wide variety of electronic files and records stored online, on personal computers, on hard drives, and on mobile devices like cell phones. Anything you keep a digital record of is considered a digital asset and should be addressed in your digital estate plan. Specifically, digital assets can include any of the following:
- Usernames and passwords for various accounts
- Email accounts
- Online banking accounts
- Online subscription-based accounts
- Photos saved on the cloud, online, on hard drives, cell phones, or computers
- Online utility accounts
- Online gaming or dating accounts
- Social media accounts
- Loyalty program benefit accounts, such as credit card perks and frequent flier miles
- Online forum or chat room accounts
- E-commerce accounts like eBay and Amazon accounts
- Any other personal information you’ve stored on a cell phone, tablet, or computer
Although this is a comprehensive list, certain types of assets don’t qualify as digital assets, even though they seem like they would. For example, the underlying financial assets in an electronic bank account, savings account, or market-based account are not considered digital assets. The online account may be considered a digital asset, but the funds held in the account aren’t.
They are considered assets and will be distributed according to your estate plan. Similarly, cryptocurrency accounts may be considered a digital asset, but the asset itself, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, will be considered as part of the estate that should be distributed to your beneficiary or beneficiaries according to your estate plan.Â
The Benefits of Creating a Digital Estate Plan
By making your digital asset plan a priority, you can provide your surviving family members and loved ones with a sense of relief from unnecessary stress after your passing. Your digital asset plan, which should include your usernames and passwords, allows a person of your choice to access and manage your digital assets. This proactive step can bring peace of mind to your loved ones, knowing that your digital legacy is in safe hands.Â
Your plan should also state how those assets should be managed so your loved ones don’t have to worry about navigating a more complex probate court process. Creating a digital estate plan also protects your assets in online accounts from risks such as hacking, fraud, and identity theft. You are providing your family with greater peace of mind and access to important information such as insurance paperwork and financial documents.
Taking Inventory of Your Digital Estate
The first step in creating a digital estate plan is carefully inventorying your digital assets. Most of us don’t realize how extensive our digital assets are until we begin taking an inventory. So much of our lives are stored online, so try to be as thorough as possible and think about your online accounts, from social media accounts to banking information.
After making a list of all the online accounts in your name, write down your username and password, as well as answers to commonly asked security questions, in case your family members need to refer to them after you pass away.
Allocate Access to Your Digital Assets
After creating a comprehensive list of all your digital assets, you’ll need to decide how those assets will be distributed. He may want to save some information by allowing your relatives to keep the accounts open. In other cases, you may want the accounts completely erased. Other assets may be directly allocated to specific friends and family members you name. For example, you may want digital assets that include monetary assets to be given to your children but for your online photos to be handled by your spouse.
If you have online accounts pertaining to your personal business or income-generating assets, you may want your business partner or your estate manager to have access to the login information and Assets in those accounts. If you own an online commerce business, you will need to clearly state whether you would like the business to be closed and the assets to be sold and given to your surviving loved ones or if you would like a specific family member to continue running the business.
Appoint an Executor for Your Digital Assets
You’ll need to appoint an executor for your digital assets who will carry out your wishes for them. The executor is a person you trust, such as a close friend or family member, who will have access to your online accounts and be in charge of handling how they are destroyed or distributed. This person will relieve undue stress on your grieving family as they will not need to try to decide who you would want to handle your digital assets. Be sure to include your designation in your will.
Including Your Digital Asset Plan in Your Will
Speaking to an attorney is the best way to ensure your wishes will be carried through. Many people include a codicil to their will stating how they would like their digital assets to be handled after they pass away. Your appointed digital executor should know where you store your digital estate plan so they can access it after you pass away. You may want to keep your will with your attorney, or store the information in a password-saving online database, or lock it away in a secure file cabinet or safe.Â
Contact a Digital Asset Planning Attorney in Pittsburgh
Carefully cataloging all of your digital assets will help you create a comprehensive estate plan. If you have questions about creating a digital asset plan in Pittsburgh, don’t hesitate to contact the skilled estate planning attorneys at Jones, Gregg, Creehan & Gerace LLP to schedule a consultation.