October 17, 2012

Every day, people are living more of their lives online. Whether via Facebook or online banking, millions of people conduct substantial portions of their personal and professional business online. All of this online activity creates what are known as digital assets. As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports, these digital assets are often forgotten when it comes to estate planning.

There are many different categories of internet assets, some examples include: social media accounts, email, financial products such as banking, reward programs such as frequent flyer miles, and entertainment accounts such as iTunes and Netflix. Without conducting simple estate planning for these digital assets, heirs may be unable to even identify all of the deceased’s virtual property, let alone gain access to it.

The easiest solution to this problem is to create a list of all your online accounts, passwords, and security question answers. Keep this list in a secure place where your family can access it if you pass away or become incapacitated. There are also online services that will manage your digital assets for you such as Legacy Locker.

This site charges a fee for its legacy protection services, however it also provides a number of bonus features such as protected document storage and backup.

Discussing your digital assets with a qualified estate planner is the only trusted way to ensure that your estate plan is complete.