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Considering Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan
Considering digital assets in your estate plan
by l.atkins@thomsonreuters.com | Aug 19, 2022 | Estate Administration
Not long ago, it was unusual for someone to have more than one or two bank accounts. Now that internet banking has become more prevalent, you will likely have several accounts with different intended purposes.
There are many assets to consider when you create an estate plan. In addition to your real property and other more considerable assets, you will need to plan for your various accounts, including your digital assets. Digital assets are easy to forget since they seem to manage themselves.
Here’s what you should know about including your digital assets in your estate plan.
If they don’t know, they don’t know
One of the challenges with distributing digital assets when they are not in the estate plan is that your loved ones may not know they need to look for them. For you, investing in a high-yield internet account or a cryptocurrency may have been a passing fad. Still, for your family, they are another asset that needs to get through the probate process.
Including your digital assets (and how to access them) in your estate plan means that your family knows about the investment and what you want them to do with it.
Knowing what it inheritable
Digital assets can also include your digital media accounts. While there used to be a time when you could include your music and movies in your will and your loved one would take home a few boxes, the situation is different with digital media.
You will need to review the terms of your digital media account to determine what you can do with your digital assets. Sometimes, you can download your assets and pass them on with an external hard drive or other media storage device. However, there are some accounts where you cannot pass on the media at all.
You should talk to a skilled professional about your assets and what you should include in your estate plan. It is important to be thorough so that your loved ones know what assets should be part of your will.