Digital Estate Planning
/Many of us have a plan for our home, 401k, and IRAs in the event of our passing. What about digital assets, such as emails, texts, social media, airline miles, cryptocurrency, music files, and photos?
Ideally, these accounts should be closed after someone dies to prevent identity theft, but not before the assets with value are distributed according to the deceased owner's wishes. In practice, most people don't have information on their digital assets in writing, leaving their beneficiaries spending months trying to piece together what clues they can find and, in many cases, never getting all the answers.
How to organize your digital assets
(1) Create an inventory of your digital accounts. Save the username, password, and email addresses associated with the accounts in a password manager, such as 1Password. You can invite your Executor to share a vault with you on the password manager or leave instructions on how to obtain access to the password manager after you die.
(2) Stipulate if there is any value associated with each account and what you want to be done after you are gone.
(3) Review the terms and conditions for the services you use where possible. You can also start with the most important accounts and contact them individually - ask about the policy and process after users die. For example, Google has an Inactive Account Manager program where you can designate a person to receive an email (that you write ahead of time) after your account has been inactive for so many days. That person can then have the option to download certain types of data that you have chosen to give them access to.
(4) Reach out to your estate planning attorney to see how digital assets are integrated into your existing estate plan documents. Because estate planning is state-specific and digital estate planning laws are evolving, they can likely provide additional guidance on things you should be doing given your current location.
originally published 12/22/2014
Linda Rogers, CFP®, EA, MSBA is the owner and founder of Planning Within Reach, LLC (PWR). Originally from New Jersey, Linda services clients throughout San Diego county and nationwide. She leads the design of PWR's investment portfolios which utilize broad, low-cost investments that integrate environmentally, socially, and governance (ESG) factors.
Planning Within Reach, LLC (PWR) is a fee-only and fiduciary wealth management firm offering one-time comprehensive financial planning, ongoing impact-focused investment management and tax preparation services in San Diego and nationwide. PWR is a woman-owned firm that specializes in busy professionals and impact investors. Planning Within Reach, LLC and their advisors do not receive commissions and do not hold any insurance licenses or brokerage relationships.