People establishing estate plans want to provide their loved ones with an inheritance and guidance when they die. They want to prevent their loved ones from fighting over their property or being unable to access resources because of their passing. Frequently, people establishing estate plans focus specifically on allocating their most valuable physical and financial assets to their chosen beneficiaries. However, they may also need to consider their digital resources.
As people live more of their lives online, digital resources have become more financially and emotionally valuable. Modern estate plans need to address electronic or digital assets, not just physical property. What digital resources require particular consideration when creating or updating an estate plan?
Financially valuable assets
There are numerous digital assets that can have a significant economic value. Some people purchase domain names that they use to run a business or hold as investments. Others may have bought into digital currency that has slowly appreciated in value.
While non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are not as popular as they were when they initially launched, some of them can represent significant value on the resale market. People generally need to ensure that their loved ones are aware of their digital assets and have the right to access, assume ownership of or liquidate those resources.
Emotionally valuable resources
Online document and photo repositories are a popular service. People use cloud storage to preserve videos from their weddings and family photographs. Ensuring that family members are aware of the existence of online storage so that they can continue paying fees or recover the digitally stored resources can be an important component of modern estate planning.
People also need to carefully consider their social media profiles. They can either arrange for loved ones to run their profiles after their passing or to transition their pages to memorial sites. Either arrangement generally requires advance planning. Otherwise, grieving family members are at the mercy of the policies maintained by large social media companies.
Digital assets can be valuable to people because of their financial worth or because of their emotional value. Integrating digital resources into an estate plan can help people address an increasingly important component of their daily lives.