Five Steps for Creating a Digital Estate Plan

If you want to make sure your digital property can be easily managed after you’re gone, you’re going to
need a digital estate plan that organizes your digital assets into one neat and easy-to-understand system.
Digital assets include hardware and software, so we’re talking about your phone, computer or tablet, as
well as social media, entertainment and shopping accounts, benefits, rewards, family photos and videos,
and everything else online or in the cloud. Here’s how to get it done in five easy steps

1. Make a list of all your digital assets and how to access each one.

List your digital assets, from the hardware you own to your social media accounts to your online banking portal. Briefly, the list may include:

  • Computers, external hard drives or flash drives, tablets, smartphones, digital music players, e-readers, and other devices
  • Information or data stored electronically, wheather online, in the cloud, or on a physical device
  • Online accounts, such as email, social media accounts, shopping accounts, utilities, photo and video sharing accounts, gaming accounts, cloud storage accounts, and websites that you may manage

Sharing your logins and passwords with someone you trust is essential to the continuity and the responsible management of your digital estate. If you use a password manager, you can simply share your access information to that account. If not, it’s important that you record the login and password information for key accounts and devices.

2. Decide what you want done with these assets

You may want some assets archived and saved while other assets should be deleted or erased, or perhaps transferred to family members, friends, or business colleagues. For each digital account or asset that you have, specify how you’d like your digital executor (the person you name to handle your digital assets) to proceed. Your instructions may conflict with some companies’ terms of service, but it’s still valuable to your executor to know your wishes.

If assets have monetary value, you may want to instruct your executor to handle those assets in a specific way. For example, should revenue-generating assets be transferred to people who will keep managing the accounts? Should credits or points or cash values be redeemed? If assets will continue generating revenue, think about where that money is going, and who will be able to access it after you’re gone.

3. Name a digital executor.

You designate a digital executor to help settle your digital estate per the instructions you leave in the document you’ve created through these steps. Digital executor might not be a legally binding or enforceable designation in most states, but that shouldn’t dissuade you from creating a plan and naming someone you trust to this role You can also make it clear that the executor you name in your will should be responsible for digital assets as well.

4. Store this information in a secure but accessible location.

There are three main ways you can securely store this kind of sensitive information: with an attorney, through an online storage service, in a locked file cabinet or safe.

No matter how you decide to store your digital estate plan, you’ll want to be sure that the people who need to can find and success the plan you’ve made. This means giving one or two people you trust – your spose, your adult children, or your digital executor, for example – the name of your attorney, the online storage or password company you’ve used, or the location of keys or the combination to your safe.

5. If possible, make it legal.

Depending on where you live, you may be able to formalize your digital estate plan in a legally binding document, such as your will or a codicil to a will.

Do not include your passwords or other access information in your will. When you die, your will becomes a public document, which means anyone can read it – including any sensitive information it may contain. A good solution is to refer in your will to an outside document that contains the necessary information to settle your digital estate. This way, you can continue to update the document without having to formally change your will.

Content was provided by a 3rd party provider. Copper Leaf Financial’s team of experienced financial planners work with clients to assure that all of the vital components of their financial plan is in order – from estate planning to retirement planning. We can help you put all of the legal documents in place to ensure that everything goes according to your plan. For more information call 802.878.2731.

Content courtesy of Everplans. Used with permission. IRN-21-1851

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