Have you made an estate plan for your digital assets?
People should create estate plans for their digital assets. It is important that the plan does not violate privacy laws.
May 30, 2013
Have you made an estate plan for your digital assets?Article provided by The Forakis Law Firm
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If you are reading this right now, you are probably online. In this day and age, much of life is spent online. People spend hours of the day clicking away at websites. Everything from banking to social networking is carried out in various online venues. Due to the steady online presence, a new category of personal property has emerged in the estate-planning world. The new category is called "digital assets." Digital assets include any type of property that is stored on a computer or online.
When you pass, you may want to pass these assets to your loved ones. Most people have several usernames and passwords for these items. Therefore, it is important to keep an inventory of your digital assets when you are creating your will. It helps to document all of the information so that the property can be accessed after you pass.
If you pass away without making arrangements in a will, your property will be distributed in accordance with state laws. However, digital assets are so new that most courts have not developed methods for distributing them when there is no estate plan.
However, even if you do make a plan for your digital assets, you should consider relevant legal issues. For example, many social media platforms have contracts that protect the privacy of the online users. Therefore, just because a family member has your username and password with your consent, he or she could still be violating privacy laws by accessing your account.
Lawmakers are working on legislation that would make it permissible for another person to access online accounts with consent. At this time, nearly all social networking websites have specific policies that deal with the death of an account owner. For example, some sites like Facebook, Gmail, Twitter and LinkedIn have guidelines and plans that provide surviving families (or executors) with access information.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that many Americans have over $50,000 in digital assets! There is a strong chance that these digital assets will be lost if owners do not make arrangements. Therefore, it is very important to set aside detailed instructions in your will.
Because estate planning laws differ immensely from state to state, it may help to meet with a qualified estate planning attorney in your area. A lawyer can help you identify your digital assets and create a plan that is in accordance with relevant privacy laws.