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What Happens to Your Online Accounts When You Die?

Posted by Nina Whitehurst | Jul 30, 2019 | 0 Comments

Have your prepared for your digital death?

According to an excellent online article entitled Your Guide On Digital Death (and How to Handle It):

"Digital assets and possessions can carry both sentimental and monetary value, but they aren't generally given much thought. Only 2.3% of the survey participants stated that they've made plans for their digital valuables after passing away.

"If you haven't organized your digital death in advance, it can be a massive headache for your family and friends to put all your digital accounts in order.

"Accessing computers, hard drives, phones, etc. may be impossible if they don't have the passwords or encryption keys.

"Moreover, how can someone know they're authorized to access your digital assets without your explicit agreement – even if they're sure you'd want them to bring much-needed closure to friends, relatives, and others you've cared for during your life?"

The article is chock full of advice on what you can do to plan for your what happens to your digital assets upon your death, but then goes on to recommend, "If you're overwhelmed by information or you're having difficulties with setting things up, you can always get some help from experts – attorneys, web services, maybe even both."

Here at Cumberland Legacy Law we know how to plan for digital assets and we agree that most people do a very poor job of it on their own.  We can help ensure that your fiduciaries have the authorities they need and can recommend third party vendors who can make the job of setting up a digital executor with each of your digital account vendors super easy. 

If you have an existing estate plan but it says nothing about digital assets, see us about getting it updated.  However, you should know that an existing estate plan that mentions digital assets is not sufficient; it is just a foundational requirement.  There is more that must be done to complete the circle.

About the Author

Nina Whitehurst

Attorney at Law Nina has been practicing law for over 30 years in the areas of estate planning, real estate and business law She is currently licensed in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Tennessee. Her Martindale-Hubbell attorney rating is the highest achievable: 5 stars in peer...

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