You may be familiar with traditional estate planning techniques like establishing a revocable trust or executing durable powers of attorney for property or healthcare decisions. These are extremely important documents and we would be happy to assist you with any questions you may have. However, many people do not know how to approach an increasingly complicated issue – what to do about the numerous internet accounts we all use on a daily basis.
Digital assets are anything that you have control of on the internet. These assets range from email and social media accounts to bank and financial institution sign-ons, to digital music or photos. All of these digital accounts can and will persist after your death unless you take affirmative steps to take care of them. There are a few steps you should take to provide for your digital estate planning.
First, take inventory of the various ways you use the internet. Create a document that details the different sites you use and add to it whenever you recall one that you haven’t yet listed. If you update your passwords frequently (and you should) you should note these changes on the list of sites you use. Keep a detailed document in a safe place. Remember that this document could be used to gain access to everything in your digital life, so treat it with the respect it deserves.
Next, choose a person you want to be your “digital executor” and notify them of your wishes. You’ll probably want to write out detailed instructions for that person and choose a back-up in case they predecease you or otherwise won’t be able to help after your death. Perhaps you would like all of your social media accounts to be deleted, or want your children to have access to your digital photos. Some sites have particular procedures for how accounts are treated after a person’s death. Whatever your wishes are, make sure that they are clearly communicated and accessible to whomever you designated to help you after your death.
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*This post was originally published on October 8, 2014
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