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Resources Important considerations when life planning for your digital assets

  • Posted by Insight by Emily O’Brien
  • Published Current as at 6 April 2020
  • Category Insights

When we think about our wealth and our assets, we automatically think of our real estate, bank accounts and even personal items such as clothing and jewellery.

What is not front of mind are our digital assets which for some people has an enormous financial value, and for all of us has an enormous sentimental value.

So what are digital assets?

They are not only social media accounts, but access to:

  • digital photographs
  • blogs
  • email accounts
  • cryptocurrency
  • sports betting accounts
  • frequent flyer points

Valuable or significant documents can also be stored on platforms like Dropbox, and personal information and key passwords stored in online password managers such as LastPass.

Have you ever considered what happens to these assets if you have not left instructions on how to access them or what you would like to have happen with your various accounts?

Some people spend years creating their online profile and have specific wishes how the messages they want to leave with their follows and how their digital assets are to be used in the future.

It’s also important that there is a clear trail for family members to follow to identify what digital assets exist and how to access those assets (particularly with online password managers which are the key to access many online apps and platforms).

In creating your life plan, it is important to consider your digital assets and make a plan, just as you consider what you wish to happen to your other assets.

We hear so frequently the age-old excuse of, I don’t have any assets. There is no one standard or description of a person’s assets these days, so there can be more than one way to go about creating a life plan. The reality is, people have more assets than they think!

It’s not just about getting a Will together, it can also involve:

  • nominating who is to take over control directly with the online provider;
  • creating a succession plan for your online profiles;
  • providing access to online documents and passwords; and
  • ensuring memories are preserved and shared with loved ones.

We all need a life plan, one tailored specifically for your life and your unique assets. Don’t tailor your life to fit the old Estate Planning mould – instead tailor your life/estate plan to fit your life.

Our Estate Planning Team can walk you through this important process and help put it in place – contact us here.