When people think of the assets they might leave in Will, digital assets are very often overlooked.
Some digital assets will have a monetary value. Others will not be worth anything in money terms, but may have sentimental value (such as family photos).
Others still, are not an asset at all – but a licence to use software (such as a gaming account, social media account or banking app). However, whilst often the provider will specify that you can’t transfer the licence, it can help loved ones to deal with your affairs if they are given access on your death.
When considering digital assets, it’s important to remember that they should be treated separately from the device on which they sit. For example, you could leave your computer to your daughter but the family photos stored on your computer to all of your children.
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Does my Will already cover digital assets?
Many people wrongly assume that they will be covered by a personal possessions clause their Will. However, for Wills executed on or after 1 October 2014, the definition of personal chattels includes all tangible movable property owned by the testator except business assets, investments and money. Digital assets are not tangible. Therefore you need to deal with them separately or extend the definition to include them as part of a personal property gift in your Will.
Digital assets that have a monetary value
A range of digital assets have a value themselves which is separate from any computer or device that they may sit on.
These may include, for example:
- High quality photographs and videos (that potentially could be sold/licensed)
- Cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin
- Websites / blogs you have created
- Domain names
- Online books you have written
- Digitally created artwork
- Online stories or poetry you have written
If you do not gift these within your Will, they will fall into the residue of your estate which may not be what you intend. Further, in the absence of any instructions, they may be overlooked or lost.
You therefore need to take the time to document these assets carefully and decide how they will be distributed. In addition, your Executors will need access to these to be able to distribute them in accordance with your wishes.
Is it an asset, though?
You might be quite certain that you have paid for and own a digital asset – but what you have instead is a licence that terminates on your death. In such cases, you would not be able to leave the asset in your Will.
Other types of assets that MAY have a perceived value but often aren’t transferable include:
- Online gaming accounts with virtual currency
- Social media accounts with a large following
An example is the ‘gold’ you can earn in the online game ‘World of Warcraft’, together with other rare items which may be sold for more gold. The game is made by Blizzard, and their terms are very clear – all you have is a licence. You cannot in any way transfer your right to any component of the game (sorry, not even legendaries!), and once you stop using the game (i.e. on death!) the agreement is terminated. You cannot therefore leave it in your Will.
Another example is a social media account with a large following. So-called ‘Influencers’ on social media can make good money promoting products and services – and so their accounts are worth something. However, if the platform’s terms say they cannot be transferred, then that value may be lost on death. You’ll need to check the terms carefully to see whether you can actually pass the account on as an asset. If not, you can of course still leave the access details and instructions – for example, as to any message that should be posted.
Action points – assets of value:
- Check to see if what you own is really an asset that can be transferred or simply a licence
- Decide where you want your digital assets of value to go
- Create a hard copy list of locations / logins for your Executors and store it safely (do not hand this over)
- If the assets have value, consider whether or not it would be wise to have separate executors to administer them (i.e. executors who have more knowledge of this type of asset)
- If the assets sit on a computer, memory stick or hard drive, you will also need to decide who should inherit that physical asset
- Speak to us about drafting a Will for you, or adding a codicil to your existing Will
- Keep your list up to date – review at least every 6 months
Account logins needed by your Executors
Some digital assets are not really assets at all – they have no resale value – but providing access to them will make it easier for Executors to administer your estate. An example would be access to an investment platform.
Again, failure to leave instructions regarding these will not only make your Executors’ job harder, but may also mean that they are overlooked.
Action points – account logins:
- Create a hard copy list of locations / logins for your Executors and store it safely (do not hand this over)
Digital assets with sentimental value
Some digital assets have no monetary value but have a great deal of sentimental value. A good example is your collection of family photos and videos, stored on a computer or hard drive. These can be left as part of a gift of personal property but as noted above, you will need to extend the definition in your Will to cover the digital asset.
Another example is your social media accounts. Whilst they may have no value as such, it may help loved ones come to terms with their loss if they can have access and post a memorial message from time to time.
Some services allow you to specify a contact who may have control of your account in the event of your death (see e.g. Facebook Memorialised accounts). Others allow an Executor to request that the account is removed (see e.g. Twitter). You may wish to write up instructions on how these should be dealt with. For example, you could request that a nominated person (perhaps your Executor) posts a message for your friends and followers. You could specify whether this should be a public message or whether (where possible) it should be restricted to friends/family.
Action points – sentimental assets:
- Decide what you would like to happen to your digital assets of no particular value other than sentimental
- Create a hard copy list of locations / logins for your Executors and store it safely (do not hand this over)
- If the assets sit on a computer, memory stick or hard drive, you will also need to decide who should inherit that physical asset
- Speak to us about drafting a Will for you, or adding a codicil to your existing Will
- Keep your list up to date – review at least every 6 months
Email accounts
Email accounts may include valuable information. They may also contain sensitive or confidential messages. Ensure that access to such accounts after death is appropriately delegated, keeping in mind whether there are any messages that may cause distress. You may wish to leave instructions to delete emails or the entire account.
You may also wish to store a hard copy of emails that contain valuable information.
Digital business assets
If you have a business, consider any valuable information you may have which will be needed to ensure business continuity after your death. This might include access to accounts, software licence keys or client lists, for example. Careful consideration of whether these are an asset, who owns them and how these can be dealt with needs to be made, as part of your business succession plans.
Managing lists
Store your lists of logins/passwords as hard copies in a safe place.
Ensure that others know of their existence/location but do not hand them over to anyone else. This is very important – not only do you need to keep these details safe for your own security, but in some cases, passing them on during your lifetime may be a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (the position changes on death).
It is vital that you keep your lists up to date. We would recommend updating them at least every six months.
For digital assets that have monetary or sentimental value, ensure these are backed up safely – for example, to cloud storage, or on a second hard drive or portable storage (CD, USB) and leave instructions on how these can be accessed. Ideally everything should be backed up both physically and in the cloud.
