Including Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan

While tangible assets are a very important part of your estate plan, digital assets cannot be ignored. When most people think about assets that they need to address in their estate plan, they include their home, cars, bank accounts, etc. They often overlook their digital assets. Assets such as cryptocurrency keys and social media accounts are important digital assets that should be included in your estate plan.

There are many different types of digital assets: financial, business, personal, and social. Financial assets include bill pay sites, cryptocurrencies, credit cards, and insurance. (For more information on cryptocurrency, please see Five Things Taxpayers Should Know About Cryptocurrency). Business assets include domain names, client data, tax software and documents, and intellectual property. Personal assets include photos, contacts, medical records, and email accounts. Social assets include any social media accounts like Facebook or Instagram.[1]

Having digital assets in an estate plan is not just about the security of your passwords and data; it is also about how these assets will be transferred and who will gain access to them.

Colin Korzec, head of Trust and Estate Settlements Services at Bank America Private Bank, says that digital assets are “often subject to terms of service agreements as well as state and federal laws, so you need to work with your estate attorney to be sure these assets are identified and granted authorized access by specific parties.”[2]

Korzec also says that passwords should be kept separate, in a secured central storage location such as a password vault. He also recommends designating a contact or other authorized user to recover passwords in case of an emergency.[3]

Be sure to make a list of all of your digital assets and store it in a secure location. Make sure your loved ones know what you own, and where they can find the list. Also, be sure to provide consent in legal documents, giving explicit permission in your estate plan for your fiduciaries to have access to your digital assets when you die.  

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Conclusion

Including your digital assets in your estate plan ensures that such assets are secure and in the right hands after you die. Having a complete estate plan that includes your tangible and digital assets is important. If you need to create an estate plan or add digital assets to your estate plan, contact a trusted attorney.

Contact Provident Legal Counsel today to discuss your case and legal options. Schedule a Consultation or call (214) 432-6100.

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[1] Estate Planning for a Digital World, Merrill, available at https://www.ml.com/articles/digital-assets-estate-planning.html.

[2] Id.

[3] Id.