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It’s common for a large portion of someone’s personal and financial life to be maintained online. This is what makes digital assets such an important consideration in estate planning, yet it’s one that many people overlook. It’s essential to make sure your will properly addresses what you wish to happen with your online accounts after you pass away. Otherwise, your loved ones are likely to face several challenges in obtaining pertinent information that will help to carry on your legacy and finalize your affairs. Here are a few useful tips for including digital assets in your estate plan.

Do:

Take an inventory of all your online accounts.

Make a list of all the digital assets you own, whether you currently use them or not. This should include digital business documents, social media profiles, online banking accounts, email services, photos, virtual currency accounts, and files in your cloud or computer. Once you’ve taken inventory, give your estate planning attorney and executor a current list of accounts so they don’t have problems tracking everything down after you’ve passed away.

Make sure your executor has legal access.

Select an executor you trust to access your digital assets and carry out your final wishes as to how they should be handled. Be sure you have left written permission in your will granting them the authority to manage your accounts so they don’t run into any trouble while logging in. Under the law, if you don’t specifically express that your executor has access to each digital property, they won’t be able to acquire certain information.

Don’t:

List usernames & passwords.

estate planningWills are required to go through a court process called probate, which makes their contents open to the public. For this reason, you shouldn’t include your usernames and passwords in the will itself. Instead, you can use an online password manager or create a separate document listing this information. It should then be left in a secure place — like a deposit box or with your estate planning attorney.

Neglect to leave detailed instructions on handling your accounts.

You must leave detailed instructions as to how you want each digital asset taken care of upon your passing. Be as specific as possible so your executor understands if certain accounts should be deactivated or transferred over to a beneficiary. If you have funds in any of these accounts, clarify how they are to be spent or who should receive them.

 

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in estate planning is forgetting to include a provision in your will that discusses your digital assets. If you aren’t sure how to correctly prepare for the management of your online accounts, contact Stuart R. Norman Jr. He has spent over four decades helping the residents of Jewett City, CT, create solid estate plans that take all assets and wishes into consideration. He will guide you through the correct process of drafting and executing a will so you can be confident it will stand up in court. Call (860) 376-0069 to schedule a consultation, or visit them online to learn more about the estate planning services they provide.

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