Managing Your Digital Assets: A Key Part of Estate Planning
When it comes to estate planning, most people focus on the big-ticket items like homes, retirement accounts, and family heirlooms. But in today’s digital age, an often-overlooked aspect of your estate is your digital footprint.
What Are Digital Assets?
Digital assets are more than just email accounts and social media profiles. They encompass everything from your financial accounts and online subscriptions to your digital photos, cryptocurrency, and even your personal websites or blogs.
Here’s a breakdown of common digital assets:
Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and TikTok accounts.
Financial Accounts: Online banking, investment platforms, cryptocurrency wallets, and Venmo/PayPal accounts.
Subscriptions and Services: Streaming services (like Netflix and Spotify), cloud storage (such as Google Drive or Dropbox), and online shopping accounts (Amazon).
Digital Content: Digital photos, music, videos, and e-books.
Professional Accounts: Websites, blogs, or YouTube channels that may generate income or hold significant intellectual property.
Why You Should Include Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan
Without the proper estate planning, access to digital assets can become a legal and practical headache for your family after you pass away. Many tech companies, to comply with Federal privacy laws, have strict privacy policies, which could prevent your loved ones from accessing your accounts absent a court order. For example, your family may not be able to retrieve valuable data stored in a cloud account, or close out financial accounts that aren’t linked to physical documentation.
In the Bay Area, where tech plays an essential role in both professional and personal lives, this can be especially important for young adults working in industries that rely on digital platforms.
Steps to Manage Your Digital Assets
Here are some essential steps to incorporate digital assets into your estate plan:
Create a Digital Inventory: Start by making a list of all your digital accounts, from social media profiles to financial and business accounts. Be sure to include login credentials, passwords, and security question answers. This list should be stored in a secure location that your trusted decision maker can access, like a password manager or secure physical document.
Set Your Preferences: For social media accounts, check if the platforms offer legacy options. For example, both Facebook and Apple allow you to assign a legacy contact to manage your account after your death. Be clear about whether you’d like accounts memorialized or deleted.
Include Digital Assets in Your Will and Trust: Make sure your estate plan outlines specific instructions for digital assets. You can specify how your digital financial assets should be distributed and who should have access to your personal accounts.
In California, you can appoint someone to handle your digital assets as part of your estate plan. This person will ensure your wishes are followed regarding the management or deletion of your accounts. They should be tech-savvy and familiar with handling digital platforms.
Even without appointing someone specifically for this, be sure your estate planning documents contain appropriate provisions for any of your trustees to have the adequate legal authority to handle digital assets. For example, if your trust was established in the 1990s, it’s possible those provisions were not a consideration.
Keep Your Plan Updated: As technology evolves, so does your digital footprint. Update your digital inventory and estate plan regularly to reflect any new accounts or assets.
In a tech-centric region like the San Francisco Bay Area, neglecting your digital assets in your estate plan could leave your family with unnecessary complications. By taking the time to organize and plan for the distribution and management of your digital assets, you’re ensuring that your legacy, both physical and digital, is protected.
If you’re ready to secure your digital estate, contact our firm to discuss how we can help integrate your digital assets into your comprehensive estate plan.