Creating an Estate Plan that Includes Digital Assets in the New Year

creating-an-estate-plan-that-includes-digital-assets-in-the-new-year

Do you find it unbelievable that 2021 has finally arrived? As we continue to live in the heart of a digital era, people may be realizing the far reaching implications this can have on their lives and plans, estate planning included. Have you created an estate plan, which includes your digital assets? Let us go over some pointers on doing that.

There may be a wide variety of digital assets that you may wish to account for in your estate plan. Cryptocurrency may be a prime example. There may also be funds in on-line betting accounts. Revenue generators in the form of blog content, on-line videos, or gaming, which can be monetized are other possibilities. If you are an artist, you may possess digital rights to books, music or performances. Beyond the financial digital assets, you should also consider your social media accounts, websites and electronic photographs. 

One of the trickiest parts about estate planning for digital assets may be that the assets cannot be neatly enclosed in a safety deposit box to be opened after your passing. One of the first steps in creating an estate plan for your digital assets may be to create a detailed list of them. In addition to the list, it may be necessary for your estate plan to include both the passwords for every digital account and written permission to access these accounts. It may be wise to utilize a password app or program to organize all of the accounts and passwords in one safe place. 

These preliminary steps should provide the information and permission to pass your digital assets along. Tricky issues may arise, if you own digital rights that are non-transferable or if you possess a significant amount of digital assets, especially ones that may be still actively earning money. Our office can assist you with handling the proprietary issues. 

For further assistance on estate planning and related matters, please contact our office to schedule an appointment time.