Skip to main content

Digital Death Guide

  • Home
  • Guest Posts
    • Wanna write a guest post ?
    • Our Authors
  • Templates
  • Business Directory
    • How to participate in our directory ?
    • Add Listing
    • Wanna write a guest post ?

Tag: Financial Consulate

Financial Consulate: The crucial importance of creating a Digital Estate Plan

Financial Consulate: The crucial importance of creating a Digital Estate Plan

November 21, 2014November 30, 2014 Eleanore

Financial Consulate

In late 2004, a roadside bomb in Fallujah tragically took the life of 20-year-old Marine Lance Corporal Justin Ellsworth.

And it fell to his family to conduct the painful process of wrapping up his estate. But his father, a police sergeant named John, ran into an unfortunate problem . . . because Justin’s email provider, Yahoo, wouldn’t give John access to his deceased son’s email account.

“He was keeping a journal of sorts to put together for future history,” John Ellsworth told BBC News. “He wanted to make sure that his generation, as well as following generations, has actual words from somebody who was there.”

So you can see why his father was so eager to gain access to those emails.

FOX

FOX

Finally, after a protracted court battle, Yahoo relented and provided the grieving father with a printed transcript of Justin’s emails. But is there some way to prevent this problem in your own estate planning?

And, as our online lives continue to expand, this issue concerns far more than access to an email address . . . Because your picture albums, social networking accounts, online brokerage, PayPal funds, twitter feeds, and even digital currencies like bitcoin all reside online.

So what happens if you pass away or suffer a major disability? You might want to make sure ahead of time that your loved ones can access those accounts. Whether you want those accounts closed, or if you simply want your loved ones to have access to them, you’ve got to prepare ahead of time.

Fortunately, you can make this entire process much easier with some simple preparation. Because you can make plans for your “digital assets” just like you can for your physical assets.

The thing is, different sites often have different terms and conditions for this type of situation. For instance, Google has a specific setting for a deceased or disabled user called “inactive status.” A user can apply this setting to allow for a successor user. It will even email the successor if the account is inactive for six months.

You’ll also want to make sure your will and power of attorney specifically address digital accounts and assets. After that, you ought to inventory what you own and use online . . . Everything from books, to digital currency, social media, shopping accounts, brokerage, bank accounts and email.

Third, keep a secure, encrypted user and password list for each computer, device or website. Roboform, 1Password, Last Pass and Keeper are all trusted software apps for discrete password management.

Lastly, make sure only a trustworthy person has access to this information. Someone such as your Executor or Attorney in Fact may be a good choice.

Right now, many states are working on a Uniform Digital Estate Law. Hopefully, these uniform laws will make the process clear and fair to all. But until that happens, you should start your planning now to assure you control your digital estate.

Click here to view original web page at Financial Consulate: The crucial importance of creating a Digital Estate Plan

Download our wordpress plugin

ddg

Popular posts

  • Template of a Will Clause For Digital Assets
  • Template of an Authorization and Consent for Release of Electronically Stored Information
  • Template of a Power of Attorney clause for Digital Assets
  • Digital assets – meet LifeLocker, the essential Executor tool
  • I spent the last 6 months planning my online death

Tags

afterlife Amazon Apple assets bank account bank accounts beneficiaries digital asset digital assets digital death digital estate Digital Estate Plan Digital Estate Planning Digital Executor digital footprint digital information digital legacy digital property digital world draft estate plan Estate Planning estate plans executor Facebook family member Financial accounts friends Google laws Life After Death NEW YORK online banking online presence Online services PayPal Personal data power of attorney service provider service providers social media social network social networks Twitter Yahoo

Download the free guide

ddg

Archives

Categories

Tag cloud

Facebook Yahoo beneficiaries Amazon Google Digital Estate Planning digital estate executor digital footprint digital asset digital legacy digital world bank account assets social network friends laws Apple digital death digital assets bank accounts digital property social media Twitter Estate Planning afterlife draft estate plan Digital Estate Plan family member
May 2023
MTWTFSS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031 
« Apr    

Tag cloud

friends family member draft assets Online services digital footprint laws Estate Planning digital estate afterlife Life After Death Digital Executor digital world digital legacy digital property Digital Estate Plan Digital Estate Planning bank account Financial accounts social media Amazon social network Twitter power of attorney NEW YORK digital asset digital assets estate plans beneficiaries PayPal digital death service provider bank accounts Apple Facebook estate plan executor Google online banking Personal data service providers social networks Yahoo online presence digital information
sparkling Theme by Colorlib Powered by WordPress