When you are establishing your estate plan it’s important that you remember to include all of your assets. And while this may seem easy, with more and more things turned digital, it is important not to forget about your digital assets.
What Are Digital Assets?
Digital assets include any account or service online that requires you to log into it or that is protected in some other way. Therefore, your digital assets may include things such as your social media accounts, your web domains that you own, your cloud accounts, smartphone apps, and online financial accounts. With so many things now digital, it’s key that you remember to consider what you would like to happen to these files, accounts, and transactions after your death.
What About Digital Liabilities?
Since there are digital assets, it only seems right that there are also digital liabilities. Digital liabilities may include any hybrid assets, such as your IRA, as well as any automatic online payments.
It’s best to maintain an organized list of all of your digital assets and their associated website addresses, account numbers, full names associated with the account, and any passwords, security questions or other security methods that your heirs may need in order to access them.
The next thing you’ll want to do is to decide who you want to leave each of your digital assets to and what you would like to happen to each of them after you pass away. You can incorporate all of your digital assets into your will or trust.
The Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act
In prior years it has proven difficult for people to gain access to others’ accounts. But luckily, California is one of the majority of states that has adopted some form of the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. The Act allows the executors of your estate to gain access to your digital financial assets (so long as your will doesn’t say otherwise). However, it’s important to bear in mind that the Act does not provide access to digital assets that are not financial in nature (e.g. email, texts, social media accounts) unless you permit such access in writing.
Heritage Legal, PC Helps Those in California to Help with Estate Planning and Creditors
When you have worked so hard for everything you have, you deserve to determine what you want to happen to them after you are gone. It’s important to ensure that your estate plan is written in a manner that allows for others to understand your wishes. That’s why an estate planning attorney can be of great help!
At Heritage Legal, PC, we understand the importance of protecting your interests and the interests of those whom you care about most. We can help you to create a comprehensive estate plan that fills all of your needs and plans ahead for your loved ones. To learn more or to schedule a free consultation, contact us today!