New Hampshire recently gave some thoughts about what happens to your facebook page when you die. More precisely, legislation is being changed so that an estate executor would be in a position to get a hold on the different social networks, emails, … after the death of the owner – which is something that is not the custom today.
Peter Sullivan is the State Rep. who started the movement of digital estate planning in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, which accepted this bill 222 to 128. The goal of these legislation is namely to give a better control of the situation to the persons who just suffered from a loss.
The other states so far are Rhode Island, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Idaho, and Indiana. The first and the second were the first states to introduce a control of digital legacy, but at the same time only applied on a limited number of services. Oklahoma was supported by a state legislator, Ryan Kiesel. Kiesel helped draft the texts, but according to his own advice, the issue must be addressed to by the federal government.
Let’s have a quick look at the different states and statuses. Here are attached links to the different texts concerning the current laws (as of beginning of 2013).
Rhode Island: The legislation simply allows an executor to access the accounts of emails of the departed.
Source: http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE33/33-27/33-27-3.htm
Connecticut : The same applies – and still the question of social networks is not raised.
Source: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/act/Pa/2005PA-00136-R00SB-00262-PA.htm
Indiana: The executor can be granted access to “information being stored online”.
Source: http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title29/ar1/ch13.html
Okhlahoma: The text gives the executor (or an estate administrator) the right to be granted the access to emails, as well as social networks, accounts.
Source: http://legiscan.com/OK/bill/HB2800/2010
Idaho: The Idaho text allows the executor to take over and control the account of the decedent, including the Facebook, Twitter, as well as any email provider. The major difference resides in the fact that the executor can resume the use of the account, even on a posthumous base.
Source: http://legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2011/S1044.pdf
