There are several things that you can do to plan for digital assets when you die, and that’s going to be a part of not only the estate plan that we would draft for you hear at Miller and Steiert, but it would also be through the custodian of the accounts. For example, Google would be a custodian.
One of the things that you can create are a list of user names and passwords. Now with that being said, I don’t always recommend that. It’s not the safest way to list your passwords so people can get access to those assets. The other option would be to leave your usernames on a tangible form. That would include a CD or a USB drive. You can put all your user names and passwords on that specific tangible item and leave that tangible item to an individual in your will. There are third party companies that also do this where you can send them your usernames and passwords, and they only release those usernames and passwords in the event something happens, and you tell them what that event would be.
Social media and Google have been the front runners in dealing with digital assets when somebody dies. Google started this and then Facebook picked up on it. You can actually designate what’s called a legacy contact, at least through Facebook that’s what it’s called. And you can do this through your settings on Facebook or through your settings on your Google account. You can designate an individual who would take over the account or who can gain access to the account in the event that you are either incapacitated or you’ve passed away.
Here at Miller and Steiert, we keep up on all the changing laws with digital assets so that your estate plan is also up to date.
