How Do Digital Assets Fit into Estate Planning? by Tony B. Manns

As life becomes increasingly digitized, it is more important than ever to consider digital assets when planning your estate and drafting your estate planning documents. A personal representative can be assigned to close or memorialize the deceased’s online accounts—from email, online shopping and banking to social media and subscription services like Netflix or Amazon Prime. Accounts that remain active after death may be vulnerable to identity theft. Personal, financial, and legal documents stored digitally are important to incorporate into your overall estate plan as well to prevent potential stress for your heirs. Making sure that family members and your personal representative are aware of what accounts you have and how to access those accounts is an important step to ensuring something is not missed. Finally, a plan to preserve or pass down cherished digital photos and videos reduces the risk of losing access to them and provides peace of mind for you and your family.

You should consult your elder law attorney to ensure that your online presence and digital legacies are managed according to your wishes.