Most Virginians know the importance of having estate planning documents drafted in order to ensure that their final wishes are carried out, their assets are distributed to their loved ones, and any loose ends are eliminated. When planning, people often think about their personal property, real estate, and bank accounts. They may even make specific provisions for sentimental items such as family jewelry, paintings, pictures, and furniture. However, times are changing and it is important to have the information and guidance to not only plan ahead, but also to think outside of the box, or the home, as the case may be.
In our technologically savvy age, many assets are moving away from the physical realm and toward the digital frontier. Photographs have vanished from the beloved family albums and are now only maintained on social media sites. Some of these sites are password protected or are impossible to recreate. As we become more reliant on technology, we need to take different steps to ensure that our estate plan also protects our digital assets.
Ownership varies depending on the type of digital asset. This means that some things are owned by you, while other things are still owned by the license holder. For example, your family photographs uploaded to social media are typically yours, but you only hold a license to any music on iTunes. With this in mind, it is important that the person responsible for managing your estate is aware of your digital accounts, what your level of ownership is, and how you wish for these accounts to be managed.
Some online giants provide some resources for those planning ahead. For example, Facebook allows you to name a “legacy contact” who would have some access to your Facebook account after you pass away. Google can be set to send an email t trusted contacts a certain amount of time after inactivity (presumably death), and allows you to share certain data with those contacts.
These companies’ resources, however, are limited and typically further action would need to be taken. Clients have a variety of options ranging from providing account information that is stored with his or her Last Will and Testament, to obtaining password storage services, to employing a service that provides for post-mortem storage. There are benefits and drawbacks to each of these options, but it is important to consider the issues and work toward setting the plans in place to meet your goals.
This is only one of the many discussions we have with our clients here are PJI Law. It is of utmost importance for us that our clients be fully informed of their options in order to strategize and meet their estate planning goals, and in this age this includes a thorough understanding of digital assets.
