Protecting your digital assets
In today’s world, digital assets are becoming more and more valuable to us, making it even more important to think about what will happen to our assets on death.
What are Digital Assets?
Digital Assets are anything that is stored digitally and usually have sentimental and/or financial value to the owner, such as: –
- social media profiles
- websites/domains
- email accounts
- files and documents
- photos and videos
- funds and on-line accounts (including PayPal, EBay and Amazon etc)
- digital currencies
- investments held in online applications
Whilst many people place immense value on their digital assets, they are often overlooked when putting their Will in place. Massive amounts of personal information are held on social media pages, investments and digital currencies of mass value in on-line applications as well as many stored and sentimental documents, files and photographs.
Due to the nature of social media these days, accounts with as little as 2,000 followers can be worth a lot of money due to advertising and endorsement deals. They are essentially classed and are most of the time online businesses meaning that they will have a value for your estate on your death. Personal social media accounts also hold a lot of personal and sentimental information that you may want to be dealt with when you pass.
Most of us also have some sort of Cloud account for storing important photographs and documents which we would not wish to lose or be deleted on our death.
The rise of online investing applications and website make it easier than ever for someone to start investing their money into a range of different assets. This can be anything from gold and silver, stocks and shares to the most recent trend of crypto currencies. Many of these accounts can hold great value which again would have a value for tax purposes on our death.
It is therefore essential to have a plan in place for how you wish these assets to be dealt with in the event of your death.
Ownership of Digital Assets
Each type of asset has different procedures and terms and conditions in place, and you should consider these carefully when setting up or managing your online account.
Most social media sites will allow you to assign a legacy contact. This is someone who will have access to your accounts when you die, and they can decide how to manage your accounts after your death. Your account can usually either be memorialized or deleted by your legacy contact. However, be aware that not all social media providers have this option. Please check your accounts carefully.
Legal Issues
The law in Scotland relating to succession dates back, by and large, to 1964. It is unsurprising, therefore, that there are no specific laws defining or regulating what digital assets are or how they are to be dealt with on death.
There is an added issue of a potential conflict of laws and jurisdiction. Most of the governing laws, and the Terms and Conditions for the most popular online accounts, are actually US laws.
Access Issues
It is important to check that your Executors would actually have authority to access your digital accounts when you die. You should be mindful of the Terms and Conditions of the service provider as you may be inadvertently breaching the Terms and Conditions that you initially signed up for should you pass on your password to a third party.
What Steps Can You Take Now to Protect Your Digital Assets?
Whether you already have a Will, or are currently considering making one, do think about your digital assets and make some provision for these.
- Consider appointing a digital Executor in your Will. As always, this should be someone you trust to deal with your online assets and you should also detail in your Will what you wish to happen with specific digital assets on your death.
- Check the Terms and Conditions to see if you actually own your digital assets and whether you would be able to pass them on when you die.
- Make an Inventory of all of your digital assets and store it in a safe place. This should be somewhere that can be easily accessed by your Executors or your next of kin on death. A note of all your online accounts and passwords should be kept up to date so your Executors know about them and can gain access to them. We recommend that you use an online “safe box” or a “password manager” to keep this secure.
- Please do not include passwords or access arrangements in your Will itself as your Will can become a public document on your death.
- Check with your online service providers to see if there is anything that you can do now to make things easier for your family and Executors on death such as setting up legacy contacts.
As you will see, the law in Scotland is still very grey regarding online accounts however, it is hoped that this is an area of law which will develop over time. Taking the practical steps outlined above could help protect your digital assets and save your family from a lot of difficultly at a very emotional time.
If you have any questions or are seeking any advice on any of the issues discussed above, please contact us on 0141 552 3422 or by email at info@mitchells-roberton.co.uk.