Defining Digital Assets
We are all aware of our general assets such as property, bank accounts, vehicles, and jewelry. What if we told you there is another type of asset known as digital assets.
Today, everyone has digital assets. Digital assets include personal files such as documents, photos, and music. Other digital assets include online accounts which are connected to your credit card or bank. These online accounts include Facebook, Amazon, and Netflix, to name a few. You may also have accounts for your online banking, investing, or even cryptocurrency. Let’s not forget your email and cloud storage accounts. These accounts contain some of your most valuable information. Did you know, the average person has approximately 100 online accounts need a password? That’s a lot of passwords!
Locating Digital Assets
Have you considered what happens to all these accounts if you die? Who will access the account, how will they get access, and how do they know which accounts need access? This is especially important for any account linked to a credit card or bank account.
Banks will not freeze your accounts until they have been notified of your death. This means all your subscriptions continue charging your account until the bank have verified you are no longer living. To notify a bank of your death, someone will need to contact the bank and provide a certified death certificate. The bank may need other information.
For your online accounts, someone will need to contact every website you have. They must submit the necessary documentation to access the account and stop charges or liquidate the account. This can be a long and difficult process to track down every account. Not to mention the challenge of submitting all the necessary documentation to close everything. Without a detailed list of online accounts and passwords, this is almost impossible.
Distributing Digital Assets
What if we told you this process can be much easier? If you have an Estate Plan, you can leave the details of your digital assets with the attorney who helped create your plan. In your Estate Plan, you may also appoint a Digital Executor to carry out your wishes with all your online accounts. By including digital assets in your plan, you would help your loved ones to locate your important digital assets.
To learn more about planning for digital assets, please schedule a consultation with an Estate Planning Attorney!