As technology and our world transforms, the ways in which we communicate, transact, and store our most cherished possessions are evolving, this gives rise to the need to plan for your digital legacy. More than likely, you have thought about or already planned for what happens to your investments, home, or other cherished items when you pass away, but what if any, for your online presence and/or digital assets? Social media accounts, email addresses, online banking, digital files, digital photos, cryptocurrencies, and digital wallets, hold some of our most important memories and possessions.
When thinking about estate planning it is important not to overlook digital assets and your online presence. Many are unaware of what happens to their social media accounts, cell phones, and the content such as pictures, and videos when the owner passes. Other digital assets such as cryptocurrency wallets, cold storage, nonfungible tokens and other assets on exchanges might be left inaccessible and the value of those accounts lost forever. It is important to have a plan in place on how a relative or executor would gain access.
Consideration for your wishes regarding the legacy of your social media accounts, and what option you have such as, to keep accounts online as a memorial, or do you wish to go dark? Do you prefer the related content to be private or shared? Currently, most companies such as Google, Apple and Facebook have strict privacy policies on your personal data and will only close your accounts, not providing access to any of the messages, pictures, or other online content to family or friends. Other digital items may be left behind on a cellphone, or computer, unknown and might keep your loved ones in the dark about other assets that should have been included in your estate. Without a proper inventory and consent, loved ones will have no way of knowing what accounts you held or the applications they need to access them.
How do you make sure your digital legacy survives you? First it is important to understand that most states have enacted a form of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which allows a person to grant or restrict access to digital accounts under three circumstances. Pennsylvania has enacted legislation which would require the following actions to preserve your digital rights. First, if the owner provides specific consent for data and digital assets to be accessed by way of an online tool granting permissions. Second, by way of a legal document such as Power of Attorney, trust or will, with specific provisions regarding access to online digital accounts and assets. And lastly, if nothing has been planned the custodian (the company) of the online account will make the decision based on their terms of service that was accepted at initial creation of the account, leaving little recourse for family members or beneficiaries.
It is important that you consider these options for your online accounts and incorporate them into your estate plan. If you have been through the estate planning process, you should check your documents or speak with your planner to see if your documents include these necessary permissions or restrictions related to your digital accounts. Be sure to provide clear details for your wishes for each asset and specify each digital account preference, how it should be preserved, restricted, or passed to beneficiaries.
As discussed above, the legacy contact often takes precedence over other legal documents, so use them in coordination with estate planning. Make an inventory of all your online accounts, subscriptions, applications including usernames and passwords and determine who will gain access and add those individuals as a legacy contact. For example – Apple allows for iPhone users to provide a legacy contact in case of death. Adding a Legacy Contact is one of the most secure ways you can provide someone you trust with access to all personal data. According to Apple, adding this feature gives the selected person access to data such as photos, messages, notes, files, apps you’ve downloaded, device backups, and more. The recipient of your account does not need to have their own Apple account or Apple device. To file an access request after you have passed, your contact will just need the generated access key and a death certificate. You can remove someone as your Legacy Contact at any time.
For Android users, the device has a feature similar to a Legacy Contact through Google’s Inactive Account Manager. The feature allows you to assign someone access to your data after a period of inactivity. You can find and set this up by signing into your Google account, going to your Data & Privacy settings, and selecting “Make a plan for your digital legacy”.
Other digital assets take more planning and are more involved, like cryptocurrency. It is important to understand the nature of digital wallets and these class of assets which operate differently than regular investment accounts. If cryptocurrency passkeys are lost or stolen, then access to the digital asset will be forfeited. Make sure digital assets that are on exchanges and stored in hot or cold wallets are listed on an estate inventory, provide the details of private keys for access to trusted representatives with details for retrieval. Some digital wallets provide a dead man switch that provide periodic check ins with the owner and after a certain time lapses without response the private keys are passed on to beneficiaries automatically. It is crucial to include detailed instructions about your crypto assets in your will or trust and ensure your beneficiaries are educated on the topic.
As the ownership of digital assets, subscriptions, and social media accounts rises, your online presence is more important than ever. While reviewing your estate plan, don’t leave out your online accounts and remember to include directives for any digital assets and online accounts you own. Making sure your digital legacy survives you will be just as important as the wealth and physical assets you pass to the next generation.
Please visit the links provided for Legacy Contact setup.
How to add a Legacy Contact for your Apple Account
About Inactive Account Manager
