Most of us are living our lives online – we use social media, manage our bank accounts, and shop from our favorite retailers. In addition to this, some of us may have an online account that has accrued valuable rewards or have an online account that produces income. We are responsible for keeping track of so much information for our online lives – usernames, passwords, and PINs.
This information is also important to our estate plans because we need to have a plan of how to access our online information in the event of an emergency. We also need to plan for how to handle our digital assets after we pass away. Without a plan for your digital assets, imagine how difficult it would be for a loved one to access your accounts to help us in a time of need.
Digital assets are assets with information about you or created by you that exist in a digital format. This information can be stored online or on a storage device.
Digital assets include:
The laws regarding privacy and access to online information are constantly changing. Estate planning with digital assets involves a unique set of considerations and decisions that must be made. Our attorneys can counsel you on your options on how your digital assets can be handled after your death.
The attorney at Monteleon Law can also help you make a comprehensive estate plan that will include the ability for your appointed representatives to handle your digital assets after your death. While careful planning is required to make sure your information can be accessed, our attorneys can help to make sure that your privacy is maintained during the process.