Most people make plans to dispose of their tangible property after they’re gone, but these days, we all have an awful lot of intangible property to deal with as well.
You may not be too concerned about what’s going to happen to your email or social media account after you die, but there are some significant financial issues that you might like to consider when it comes to your digital footprint. Many advisers have even gone so far as to set up “digital estate plans” for their more wired clients.
If you’re considering a digital estate plan it’s worth turning your attention towards your online financial life, which, for many of us, has grown into a many tentacled beast.
“Increasingly people are thinking of this and making an inventory,” says Kathy Wilson, chair of the Law Institute of Victoria’s succession law committee. “But it is interesting how slow most people are, considering how quickly social media is moving. My advice is to keep a record of everything and give it to the executor of the will in a sealed envelope.”
Melbourne lawyer and wills and estates specialist James Daly says people’s digital information can be “nightmarish” to negotiate. The trend towards fingerprint access to some digital devices has complicated the issue further. “This is an area that can cause real grief,” he says. “It is very tricky.”
If you’re looking for some tips to get your digital assets in order, here are five tips to keep in mind:
1 – Consider keeping a list of all the financial sites you access
Some of these are obvious, like bank accounts, credit cards, loans and other online payments. Others may be less obvious (such as online accounts with companies like Amazon and PayPal).
Deposit accounts may seem like a top priority when it comes to managing your digital footprint, but are probably the least of your worries. That’s because money in deposit accounts is accounted for in a person’s will, and banks and brokers have well-established procedures for dealing with accounts after a person has died.
Other accounts may require more attention. A person may have money in their PayPal account or may have debts to be paid because of their purchases on sites like eBay. There may be transferable benefits from a frequent-flyer account and, while these aren’t likely to be significant amounts of money, they still ought to be accounted for.
2 – Think about naming a “digital executor”
A digital executor is a person you assign to deal with your digital assets after you die. He or she will need access to a list of online accounts, including all passwords and directions. A digital executor currently has no legal status in Australia, but it should be someone in whom you trust and who is adept at using online platforms. (Some people find a grandchild can be a good choice.)
Tasmanian lawyer Kimberly Martin says Australia needs laws to give executors control over the digital estates of friends or family who have died, even if no list has been made.
3 – Consider if there are digital heirlooms worth preserving
Aside from the financial considerations, many of us now live a good deal of our personal lives online. It’s worth considering how much of this should be curated after you’re gone. Perhaps you have a personal or company website you’d like to have continue, or a blog that you’d rather have taken down when you’re no longer there to maintain it. Maybe you’d like particular people to inherit some of your digital assets, like photos or videos, which are attached to your social media accounts. Such things need consideration when planning your estate.
4 – Find a safe place for your digital information
Identity theft is a growing concern in our digital age and it can be devastating if your information falls into the wrong hands. One option may be to consider keeping a printed hardcopy of all passwords and other data and keeping it in a safe place offline.
There are online solutions for storing digital information as well. They include services which can store all your information in the cloud and often have stringent access requirements, like providing a copy of a death certificate and details of nominated people to contact should data be accessed after a person’s death.
5 – Finally, put your plan in writing
This can be when good old fashioned paper comes into play. It’s unlikely that anyone’s going to want to trawl through your personal computer files looking for your instructions after you die. Make sure your wishes are clear and easy to find by the people who’ll need them. It could be as simple as writing instructions down on paper and telling a trusted person where those instructions are kept. Thoughtful estate planning is all about making sure the right people have access to the right information at the right time.
If you need assistance planning your financial future, we’re here to help.
To speak with an experienced adviser, call Align Financial on (02) 9913 9995.
