Do you have a vast iTunes library? Maybe some e-books stashed on a Kindle or Nook? Do you sell items on eBay or use PayPal? Bitcoins? Got an online-only bank account? Email and Facebook?
Americans value their digital assets at more than $54,000 on average, according to a 2011 survey conducted for McAfee, a security technology company — but few people take the time create an estate plan for their digital assets.
Without a plan in place, you risk burying your family in red tape as they try to get access to and deal with your online accounts that may have sentimental, practical or monetary value.
If you have, say, a Yahoo email account, your emails might be deleted before your family has a chance to review them. In other cases, maybe your family gains access to emails that you’d rather they didn’t see.
Or, maybe you’ve been blogging for years, and your family wants to maintain your online writing as a sort of memorial. Without access to the accounts through which you manage that blog, it might be deleted before your family can act, or spammers might take over the comments section.
These are the sorts of problems that a digital estate plan — one that details your online assets — can help prevent. Keep in mind that, given the legal complexities, a digital estate plan won’t guarantee your wishes are met. But it will help your executor as he or she attempts to manage and distribute your assets.
And it’s not only an issue of family photos and other sentimental assets. If you have an online-only bank account or a PayPal account, your executor may never know about that account if not for your digital estate plan. And what if you have a fortune in Bitcoins on your computer?
But divvying up your online assets is complicated: These accounts often are governed by the terms-of-service agreement to which you agreed upon opening the account. Often, service providers have created those agreements to comply with federal laws that limit access to account information to authorized users.
Plus, most state laws don’t offer specific support to executors in taking control of digital assets. Even where such laws exist, they are often well behind the reality of today’s technology. (The Uniform Law Commission, a nonprofit that drafts model legislation for states to adopt, is in the process of drafting a proposed law on digital assets — a Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act — but there is no guarantee states will adopt the legislation.)
Given the legal realities, creating a digital estate plan won’t fully guarantee your wishes are met after you die.
“It makes for a pretty convoluted state of affairs. I don’t know that there is a perfect comprehensive solution,” said Sharon Klein, managing director of family office services and wealth strategies at Wilmington Trust, in New York.
There are services such as Family Archival Solutions, PasswordBox (which includes Legacy Locker) and SecureSafe, among others, that aim to offer easy online solutions to the digital-asset conundrum — from full-service estate plans for your online accounts to simple password-management solutions.
But such services come with their own set of challenges. Will the company still be around when you die? Will its encryption methods fall prey to scammers? In the end, you’ll have to decide whether an online solution, an encrypted file on your home computer or simple pen-and-paper work best for you.
1. Make an inventory
First, make a list of your online accounts so your executor knows about your online assets.
Just as you would with your physical assets, “make an inventory of the accounts you have,” said Alexandra Gerson, a lawyer with Helsell Fetterman in Seattle. Read more about estate planning: It’s not about the money.
Keep in mind that allowing just anyone to log into your account could be a violation of the terms of service. But an executor acting in the best interests of the estate and as per the terms of your will is unlikely to run into problems.
(Read more below on designating a “digital executor.”)
The estate’s executor or representative “has a duty to inventory your estate, locate and ascertain creditors and ultimately pay creditors and distribute assets to your beneficiaries,” Gerson said. “Your digital accounts are part of your estate.”
Your inventory should include login IDs and passwords. “It’s no good just knowing about the accounts if you can’t get access,” Klein said. “Be vigilant about keeping that updated and storing it in a safe, private, secure location.”
You could store the information with one of the online services, in a safe-deposit box, or put it on a CD or flash drive and give to a trusted adviser. But don’t put your login information in your will — wills that go to probate become public record.
2. What do you want to happen?
Next, detail how you want to dispose of each asset. Get specific.
For example, “If I’m dead, memorialize my Facebook, delete my Twitter and LinkedIn, and here’s how to get the cash out of my PayPal,” suggested Jean Gordon Carter, an estate-plan attorney and partner at Hunton & Williams LLP in Raleigh, NC.
Keep in mind that your wishes may run afoul of the service provider’s policies, depending on the terms of service associated with each account — terms which, by the way, can change at any time. The best you can do is leave a detailed digital estate plan, and hope for the best.
In some cases, account deletion may be the default option. For example, Yahoo’s current terms of service for email accounts says: “You agree that your Yahoo account is nontransferable and any rights to your Yahoo ID or contents within your account terminate upon your death. Upon receipt of a copy of a death certificate, your account may be terminated and all contents therein permanently deleted.”
If that’s precisely what you’d like to have happen — maybe your emails are not for your family’s eyes — then don’t provide your password for that account in your estate plan, and note that you’d like that account deleted without being read.
3. Consider any estate-management tools offered by the company
Email service providers and others have started to change their policies in response to the complexities of dealing with digital assets after an account owner’s death. Some email providers, for example, may provide an estate’s executor with a copy of the decedent’s emails (it’s unlikely that they’ll provide the username and password).
For its part, Facebook will delete an account or allow the user’s timeline to be memorialized once it receives proof of death and proof of the relationship between the decedent and the person making the request. Read more here.
“If your mom has no idea what Facebook is, you don’t want her going in and trying to handle it.”
In April, Google announced its Inactive Account Manager, which will contact your chosen representative if your account goes inactive for a specified period. If you have any type of Google account — Gmail, Picasa, Blogger, etc. — then consider opting into this service .
“Although it is cumbersome to have to deal with each provider separately, where they do offer the mechanism, it’s the easiest way to deal with what you want to have happen after your death,” Klein said.
4. Designate a digital executor
Pick a trusted friend or relative to handle your digital assets after you die. This person could be your main executor, or someone else.
“If your mom has no idea what Facebook is, you don’t want her going in and trying to handle it. In some cases, it might make sense to name a different fiduciary for that role,” Gerson said. “You can name two executors and say one has ‘limited power to handle my digital assets.’”
Get specific: Name the person, and name each account for which you name them as an authorized user.
Your will can state that you give your executor the authority “to manipulate, maintain, delete — whatever you like — my digital assets,’” Carter said.
Naming such a person is no guarantee. “Whether that works perfectly if there is a terms of service agreement that conflicts with that, that’s unclear, but it’s certainly better to be proactive and nominate someone,” Klein said. “Then that person has the ability to say, ‘This person authorized me to have access.’ That will certainly facilitate things after death.”
For specific tips on dealing with iTunes, e-books, email and bitcoins, read How to give away your digital fortune.
Andrea Coombes is a personal-finance writer and editor in San Francisco. She's on Twitter @andreacoombes.
Do you have a vast iTunes library? Maybe some e-books stashed on a Kindle or Nook? Do you sell items on eBay or use PayPal? Bitcoins? Got an online-only bank account? Email and Facebook?
Americans value their digital assets at more than $54,000 on average, according to a 2011 survey conducted for McAfee, a security technology company — but few people take the time create an estate plan for their digital assets.
Without a plan in place, you risk burying your family in red tape as they try to get access to and deal with your online accounts that may have sentimental, practical or monetary value.
If you have, say, a Yahoo email account, your emails might be deleted before your family has a chance to review them. In other cases, maybe your family gains access to emails that you’d rather they didn’t see.
Or, maybe you’ve been blogging for years, and your family wants to maintain your online writing as a sort of memorial. Without access to the accounts through which you manage that blog, it might be deleted before your family can act, or spammers might take over the comments section.
These are the sorts of problems that a digital estate plan — one that details your online assets — can help prevent. Keep in mind that, given the legal complexities, a digital estate plan won’t guarantee your wishes are met. But it will help your executor as he or she attempts to manage and distribute your assets.
And it’s not only an issue of family photos and other sentimental assets. If you have an online-only bank account or a PayPal account, your executor may never know about that account if not for your digital estate plan. And what if you have a fortune in Bitcoins on your computer?
But divvying up your online assets is complicated: These accounts often are governed by the terms-of-service agreement to which you agreed upon opening the account. Often, service providers have created those agreements to comply with federal laws that limit access to account information to authorized users.
Plus, most state laws don’t offer specific support to executors in taking control of digital assets. Even where such laws exist, they are often well behind the reality of today’s technology. (The Uniform Law Commission, a nonprofit that drafts model legislation for states to adopt, is in the process of drafting a proposed law on digital assets — a Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act — but there is no guarantee states will adopt the legislation.)
Given the legal realities, creating a digital estate plan won’t fully guarantee your wishes are met after you die.
“It makes for a pretty convoluted state of affairs. I don’t know that there is a perfect comprehensive solution,” said Sharon Klein, managing director of family office services and wealth strategies at Wilmington Trust, in New York.
There are services such as Family Archival Solutions, PasswordBox (which includes Legacy Locker) and SecureSafe, among others, that aim to offer easy online solutions to the digital-asset conundrum — from full-service estate plans for your online accounts to simple password-management solutions.
But such services come with their own set of challenges. Will the company still be around when you die? Will its encryption methods fall prey to scammers? In the end, you’ll have to decide whether an online solution, an encrypted file on your home computer or simple pen-and-paper work best for you.
1. Make an inventory
First, make a list of your online accounts so your executor knows about your online assets.
Just as you would with your physical assets, “make an inventory of the accounts you have,” said Alexandra Gerson, a lawyer with Helsell Fetterman in Seattle.
Keep in mind that allowing just anyone to log into your account could be a violation of the terms of service. But an executor acting in the best interests of the estate and as per the terms of your will is unlikely to run into problems.
(Read more below on designating a “digital executor.”)
The estate’s executor or representative “has a duty to inventory your estate, locate and ascertain creditors and ultimately pay creditors and distribute assets to your beneficiaries,” Gerson said. “Your digital accounts are part of your estate.”
Your inventory should include login IDs and passwords. “It’s no good just knowing about the accounts if you can’t get access,” Klein said. “Be vigilant about keeping that updated and storing it in a safe, private, secure location.”
Click here to view original web page at Who gets your digital fortune when you die?
Do you have an enormous iTunes library? Maybe some e-books stashed on a Kindle or Nook? Do you promote objects on eBay or use PayPal? Bitcoins? Got a web-based-solely checking account? Email and Facebook?
Americans worth their digital property at greater than $fifty four,000 on common, in response to a 2011 survey carried out for McAfee, a safety expertise firm — however few individuals take the time create an property plan for his or her digital belongings.
Without a plan in place, you threat burying your household in purple tape as they attempt to get entry to and cope with your on-line accounts that will have sentimental, sensible or financial worth.
If you have, say, a Yahoo electronic mail account, your emails may be deleted earlier than your household has an opportunity to evaluation them. In different circumstances, perhaps your household positive factors entry to emails that you’d fairly they didn’t see.
Or, possibly you’ve been running a blog for years, and your household needs to keep up your on-line writing as a form of memorial. Without entry to the accounts by means of which you handle that weblog, it is perhaps deleted earlier than your household can act, or spammers may take over the feedback part.
These are the kinds of issues that a digital estate plan — one which particulars your on-line belongings — can assist stop. Keep in thoughts that, given the authorized complexities, a digital estate plan received’t assure your needs are met. But it would assist your executor as she or he makes an attempt to handle and distribute your belongings.
And it’s not solely a difficulty of household pictures and different sentimental belongings. If you have a web-based-solely checking account or a PayPal account, your executor might by no means find out about that account if not for your digital estate plan. And what if you have a fortune in Bitcoins on your laptop?
But divvying up your on-line belongings is difficult: These accounts typically are ruled by the phrases-of-service settlement to which you agreed upon opening the account. Often, service suppliers have created these agreements to adjust to federal legal guidelines that restrict entry to account info to licensed customers.
Plus, most state legal guidelines don’t provide particular assist to executors in taking management of digital belongings. Even the place such legal guidelines exist, they’re typically nicely behind the truth of right now’s know-how. (The Uniform Law Commission, a nonprofit that drafts mannequin laws for states to undertake, is within the means of drafting a proposed regulation on digital belongings — a Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act — however there isn’t a assure states will undertake the laws.)
Given the authorized realities, making a digital estate plan received’t totally assure your needs are met after you die.
“It makes for a reasonably convoluted state of affairs. I don’t know that there’s a excellent complete resolution,” mentioned Sharon Klein, managing director of household workplace companies and wealth methods at Wilmington Trust, in New York.
There are companies reminiscent of Family Archival Solutions, PasswordBox (which incorporates Legacy Locker) and SecureSafe, amongst others, that purpose to supply straightforward on-line options to the digital-asset conundrum — from full-service property plans for your on-line accounts to easy password-administration options.
But such companies include their very own set of challenges. Will the corporate nonetheless be round when you die? Will its encryption strategies fall prey to scammers? In the tip, you’ll need to determine whether or not an internet resolution, an encrypted file on your house pc or easy pen-and-paper work finest for you.
S. Make a list
First, make an inventory of your on-line accounts so your executor is aware of about your on-line belongings.
Just as you would with your bodily property, “make a listing of the accounts you have,” mentioned Alexandra Gerson, a lawyer with Helsell Fetterman in Seattle. Read extra about property planning: It’s not concerning the cash.
Keep in thoughts that permitting simply anybody to log into your account could possibly be a violation of the phrases of service. But an executor appearing in the perfect pursuits of the property and as per the phrases of your will is unlikely to run into issues.
(Read extra beneath on designating a “digital executor.”)
The property’s executor or consultant “has an obligation to stock your property, find and verify collectors and finally pay collectors and distribute belongings to your beneficiaries,” Gerson stated. “Your digital accounts are a part of your property.”
Your stock ought to embrace login IDs and passwords. “It’s no good simply figuring out concerning the accounts if you can’t get entry,” Klein mentioned. “Be vigilant about protecting that up to date and storing it in a secure, personal, safe location.”
You may retailer the knowledge with one of many on-line providers, in a secure-deposit field, or put it on a CD or flash drive and provides to a trusted adviser. But don’t put your login info in your will — wills that go to probate change into public file.
P. What do you wish to occur?
Next, element how you wish to dispose of every asset. Get particular.
For instance, “If I’m lifeless, memorialize my Facebook, delete my Twitter and LinkedIn, and right here’s the right way to get the money out of my PayPal,” steered Jean Gordon Carter, an property-plan lawyer and accomplice at Hunton & Williams LLP in Raleigh, NC.
Keep in thoughts that your needs might run afoul of the service supplier’s insurance policies, relying on the phrases of service related to every account — phrases which, by the way in which, can change at any time. The finest you can do is depart an in depth digital estate plan, and hope for one of the best.
In some instances, account deletion stands out as the default choice. For instance, Yahoo’s present phrases of service for electronic mail accounts says: “You agree that your Yahoo account is nontransferable and any rights to your Yahoo ID or contents inside your account terminate upon your loss of life. Upon receipt of a duplicate of a demise certificates, your account could also be terminated and all contents therein completely deleted.”
If that’s exactly what you’d prefer to have occur — perhaps your emails usually are not for your household’s eyes — then don’t present your password for that account in your property plan, and notice that you’d like that account deleted with out being learn.
A. Consider any property-administration instruments supplied by the corporate
Email service suppliers and others have began to alter their insurance policies in response to the complexities of coping with digital property after an account proprietor’s loss of life. Some e mail suppliers, for instance, might present an property’s executor with a duplicate of the decedent’s emails (it’s unlikely that they’ll present the username and password).
For its half, Facebook will delete an account or permit the consumer’s timeline to be memorialized as soon as it receives proof of dying and proof of the connection between the decedent and the individual making the request. Read extra right here.
“If your mother has no thought what Facebook is, you don’t need her entering into and attempting to deal with it.”
In April, Google introduced its Inactive Account Manager, which is able to contact your chosen consultant if your account goes inactive for a specified interval. If you have any sort of Google account — Gmail, Picasa, Blogger, and many others. — then contemplate opting into this service .
“Although it’s cumbersome to must take care of every supplier individually, the place they do supply the mechanism, it’s the best strategy to cope with what you need to have occur after your loss of life,” Klein stated.
F. Designate a digital executor
Pick a trusted pal or relative to deal with your digital property after you die. This particular person might be your principal executor, or another person.
“If your mother has no thought what Facebook is, you don’t need her entering into and making an attempt to deal with it. In some circumstances, it would make sense to call a unique fiduciary for that position,” Gerson stated. “You can identify two executors and say one has ‘restricted energy to deal with my digital belongings.’”
Get particular: Name the particular person, and title every account for which you identify them as a certified consumer.
Your will can state that you give your executor the authority “to control, preserve, delete — no matter you like — my digital belongings,’” Carter stated.
Naming such an individual isn’t any assure. “Whether that works completely if there’s a phrases of service settlement that conflicts with that, that’s unclear, but it surely’s definitely higher to be proactive and nominate somebody,” Klein stated. “Then that individual has the flexibility to say, ‘This particular person approved me to have entry.’ That will definitely facilitate issues after loss of life.”
For particular recommendations on coping with iTunes, e-books, e-mail and bitcoins, learn How to provide away your digital fortune.
Andrea Coombes is a private-finance author and editor in San Francisco. She’s on Twitter @andreacoombes.
Do you have an enormous iTunes library? Maybe some e-books stashed on a Kindle or Nook? Do you promote objects on eBay or use PayPal? Bitcoins? Got an internet-solely checking account? Email and Facebook?
Americans worth their digital property at greater than $fifty four,000 on common, in line with a 2011 survey performed for McAfee, a safety expertise firm — however few folks take the time create an property plan for his or her digital belongings.
Without a plan in place, you threat burying your household in purple tape as they attempt to get entry to and take care of your on-line accounts which will have sentimental, sensible or financial worth.
If you have, say, a Yahoo e-mail account, your emails is likely to be deleted earlier than your household has an opportunity to assessment them. In different circumstances, perhaps your household beneficial properties entry to emails that you’d fairly they didn’t see.
Or, possibly you’ve been running a blog for years, and your household needs to keep up your on-line writing as a form of memorial. Without entry to the accounts by which you handle that weblog, it could be deleted earlier than your household can act, or spammers would possibly take over the feedback part.
These are the types of issues that a digital estate plan — one which particulars your on-line belongings — will help stop. Keep in thoughts that, given the authorized complexities, a digital estate plan received’t assure your needs are met. But it should assist your executor as she or he makes an attempt to handle and distribute your property.
And it’s not solely a difficulty of household pictures and different sentimental belongings. If you have a web-based-solely checking account or a PayPal account, your executor could by no means find out about that account if not for your digital estate plan. And what if you have a fortune in Bitcoins on your pc?
But divvying up your on-line property is sophisticated: These accounts usually are ruled by the phrases-of-service settlement to which you agreed upon opening the account. Often, service suppliers have created these agreements to adjust to federal legal guidelines that restrict entry to account data to approved customers.
Plus, most state legal guidelines don’t supply particular assist to executors in taking management of digital belongings. Even the place such legal guidelines exist, they’re typically effectively behind the truth of in the present day’s expertise. (The Uniform Law Commission, a nonprofit that drafts mannequin laws for states to undertake, is within the strategy of drafting a proposed legislation on digital belongings — a Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act — however there isn’t any assure states will undertake the laws.)
Given the authorized realities, making a digital estate plan gained’t totally assure your needs are met after you die.
“It makes for a reasonably convoluted state of affairs. I don’t know that there’s a good complete resolution,” mentioned Sharon Klein, managing director of household workplace providers and wealth methods at Wilmington Trust, in New York.
There are companies comparable to Family Archival Solutions, PasswordBox (which incorporates Legacy Locker) and SecureSafe, amongst others, that purpose to supply simple on-line options to the digital-asset conundrum — from full-service property plans for your on-line accounts to easy password-administration options.
But such providers include their very own set of challenges. Will the corporate nonetheless be round when you die? Will its encryption strategies fall prey to scammers? In the tip, you’ll need to determine whether or not a web based answer, an encrypted file on your house laptop or easy pen-and-paper work greatest for you.
S. Make a listing
First, make an inventory of your on-line accounts so your executor is aware of about your on-line belongings.
Just as you would with your bodily belongings, “make a listing of the accounts you have,” stated Alexandra Gerson, a lawyer with Helsell Fetterman in Seattle.
Keep in thoughts that permitting simply anybody to log into your account could possibly be a violation of the phrases of service. But an executor appearing in the most effective pursuits of the property and as per the phrases of your will is unlikely to run into issues.
(Read extra under on designating a “digital executor.”)
The property’s executor or consultant “has an obligation to stock your property, find and verify collectors and finally pay collectors and distribute belongings to your beneficiaries,” Gerson stated. “Your digital accounts are a part of your property.”
Your stock ought to embody login IDs and passwords. “It’s no good simply understanding in regards to the accounts if you can’t get entry,” Klein stated. “Be vigilant about retaining that up to date and storing it in a secure, personal, safe location.”
