New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
When it comes to planning for how your assets will be managed after you pass away, people often make adequate arrangements in their estate plan in regards to their finances as well as physical property.
In this era, when an increasingly large amount of information that people have is stored online, it’s critical to also create an adequate digital estate plan which makes sure that your loved ones can access your digital assets like social media accounts, subscription services, pictures, and personal files, and digital currency.
One issue that makes planning for digital assets complex is that service, as well as user agreements, often stipulate that a company will terminate a person’s account following that individual’s death without waiting to hear back from the next-of-kin. Many states including New York have established legislation addressing how to handle a person’s digital assets. These regulations frequently contain challenges preventing complete access to digital files. To avoid encountering complications with your digital assets after you pass away, this article reviews some of the most helpful strategies you should follow to adequately plan for digital assets.
# 1 – Appoint an Executor of Your Digital Assets
It’s often the case that the person you appoint as executor in your will cannot gain access to your online information. As a result, it’s a good idea to specifically appoint someone who can handle your assets and provide this person with the information they need to do so. Often, people decide to appoint the same executor as the one named in their will to manage their digital assets.
# 2 – Establish an Inventory of Your Digital Assets
You should take steps to make sure that your executor can conveniently access your digital items. One of the best ways to make this process easier is to list all of your logins and passwords in a convenient place using a program like LastPass. If you decide against software to inventory your digital assets, you might decide on a more old-fashioned option like listing this information on a spreadsheet. After deciding what accounts should be included in your digital estate plan, it’s a good idea to keep this inventory up to date by adding new or unused assets and updating information like usernames and passwords as necessary.
# 3 – Create an Action Plan
If you’ve collected all of your assets and created a plan of action, you should determine what you would like your executor to do with your digital data. Your plan should outline what accounts you’d like deleted or achieved as well as which digital assets you’d like transferred to your loved ones.
Obtain the Assistance of an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney
Digital assets are just one of the many unique types of assets that people in the United States own. One of the best ways to make sure that you fully take each of your assets into consideration in your estate plan is to engage in advance. Contact an experienced attorney at Ettinger Law Firm today to schedule a free case evaluation.