What are digital assets and why may an estate plan include them?

On Behalf of | Mar 15, 2022 | Uncategorized

Digital assets include everything related to your online life that you established through technology. As reported by Money.com, your estate plan may include instructions for your digital assets. You may outline details for someone to delete your online books, music and social media profiles after your death.

Your trustee or the representative of your estate may require passwords to your social media networks and email accounts. Without access to your digital accounts, they may remain open and unattended. While most digital accounts do not allow a transfer to another individual, you may leave instructions for closing them.

What may my representative or trustee do with my digital assets?

Your estate’s representative or your trustee may access your online presence. Your estate plan may specify which contents to delete. If you wish for your representative to inform an online network of your death, you may include instructions to do so. You may also outline turning your profile into an online memorial page.

You may leave cryptocurrencies to individuals named in your will. For access, your heirs require a record of your virtual holdings and a private key to your crypto wallet. If you own website domain names, you may include them in a trust. You could instruct your trustee on how to manage them and provide income for your trust’s beneficiaries.

How may my estate’s representative access my online accounts?

Nerd Wallet reports that estate planning professionals recommend creating an inventory list of digital assets. It could include login credentials and answers to security questions. If you have two-factor authentication through SMS text messaging, you may leave instructions for your representative to access your mobile device.

Some online accounts may require closing after death. An estate plan may include instructions for accessing them and deleting their contents. Cryptocurrencies, however, may require inclusion in a will or trust.