In our increasingly digital world, we leave behind a substantial footprint of online assets and digital legacies. From social media accounts to email subscriptions, these digital assets hold both sentimental and financial value. However, many individuals overlook the importance of incorporating these assets into their estate plan. When we talk about “digital assets,” this may cover a wide range of items, including but not limited to: Social Media Accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles. What needs to be done with those? Is there a way to keep the content? Email Accounts including Gmail®, Outlook®, Yahoo® and other email services. Who can access that? Digital Subscriptions like our beloved streaming services, online publications, and software licenses. This includes ancestry profiles, picture storage sites, airfare miles, and other points and rewards. Cryptocurrencies and Online Financial Accounts: Bitcoin, PayPal, and online banking accounts. Failure to account for these digital assets in
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What happens to a person’s Facebook account when he or she passes away? What about the photos you share on social media, the documents you’ve stored in the cloud, your texts to family and friends? While the law is clear about how to handle physical property when a person dies, it is only now beginning to address the management of digital assets. An article in The Conversation discusses this issue. Here are some of the highlights. Privacy concerns. While many legal issues surrounding digital assets remain undecided, people should still consider including them in their estate planning. Access to a decedent’s email is an important consideration. Such messages can be highly personal in nature. What is more, bank accounts, utilities and other accounts may be linked to certain email addresses and messages. Access to this information can help administer a decedent’s estate. Meanwhile, limiting who can access it can protect
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