Digital Estate Planning
by aridoneyet · 38 things on NewTwos
- Why do you need a digital estate plan?
- Prioritizing creating your digital estate plan (AKA a Will for your digital assets) will relieve your family members and loved ones from the added stress that arises after a death. When your family can rely on a written plan that outlines the passwords for your digital assets as well as how those assets should be managed, they won’t have to worry about navigating a more extensive probate court process.
- By creating a digital Estate Plan, you are protecting your online assets from risks like identity theft, hacking, and fraud. You are also giving your family greater peace of mind (as well as access to important information like financial documents and insurance paperwork.)
- Inventory your digital assets
- Social media accounts
- Subscription services
- Email accounts
- Online banking accounts
- Credit card accounts
- Utility accounts
- Contact lists
- Shopping accounts
- Photo and video sharing and storage accounts
- Smartphone, computer, tablet or cloud data
- Existing digital collections
- Websites or blogs you maintain
- Online marketplace stores
- Domain names
- Cryptocurrency keys
- Text, graphic and audio files (or other intellectual property)
- Understand accessibility issues
- Many states have adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), which lays out three tiers for accessing digital assets:
- Tier 1. If a digital service provides a tool to designate what happens to assets after you die, this designation guides what happens to the account. For example, if you used Google’s inactive account manager to designate a family member, this designation would guide what happens to your Google assets.
- Tier 2. If there isn’t any tool, then the owner’s directions in a will or legal document determine the handling of the account or asset.
- Tier 3. If neither of the first two scenarios are present, the terms-of-service agreement dictates how those accounts can be accessed. As mentioned, those agreements often restrict access to the original owner.
- Create a digital estate plan
- Prepare email accounts.
- These may be one of the most important assets to plan for because they allow your beneficiaries to access bills and notifications, and often serve as access credentials for other digital services. The content of your email may also be important for sentimental value or help to settle the estate. Do note that, as a privacy measure, the RUFADAA does require you to leave specific permission for an executor to access email messages.
- Inventory your logins.
- Make a list of assets with usernames and passwords and include the credentials so that your estate manager can access them. Remember though, that this information shouldn’t be included in your will, as that becomes a public document when you die. Record them separately and make sure your executor can find them. Password management software like LastPass or 1Password may be useful for this because they can store multiple passwords but need only one to access.
- Outline your wishes.
- List your intentions for each asset or account. Should your social media accounts be deleted immediately, or should the contents be archived? What about digital assets that have monetary value or generate revenue, such as a website or online storefront?
- Name a separate executor.
- Consider naming a digital executor to carry out your wishes for your digital assets. This may not be necessary if your estate’s main executor is comfortable managing digital assets as well. However, if you have particularly valuable digital assets or have specific privacy wishes, it may be smart to name a separate, specific digital executor.
- Find safe storage.
- Store your digital estate plans in a safe place and give instructions for accessing those plans to the people who will be managing your estate after you’re gone. This could be with an attorney, online storage platform or in a secure safe or file cabinet.
- Sample Checklist
- Source