In a world full of social media, online banking and identities, dealing with digital assets as part of your Will is extremely important. Digital assets are frequently ignored and with the growth in technology, properly dealing with them as a part of your Estate Plan is increasingly important. If they are not properly dealt with and disposed of upon death, there can be a myriad of negative consequences, affecting both the deceased’s finances and reputation.
It is important that your Will gives your Executor the power and privilege to deal with any digital or electronic property or online accounts that form part of your Estate. These powers should include accessing, retrieving and downloading, or securely deleting digital or electronic property; managing or disposing of domain names; continuing operation of or dismantling websites managing or closing accounts (including social media accounts, email accounts, cloud storage accounts, online gaming accounts, subscription media accounts and electronic commerce accounts etc.); protecting or securely deleting your digital works and related intellectual property, including documents, blog posts, photographs, videos and websites; and generally protecting your personal information etc.
The value of an up to date Will cannot be underestimated.
This is provided as information ONLY; it should NOT be construed as legal advice. For more information on estate planning/incapacity planning and to discuss your specific circumstances, please contact Vanessa DeDominicis at [email protected] or on 250-869-1140. Vanessa practices in the area of Wills and Estates at Pushor Mitchell LLP in Kelowna and would be more than happy to assist you.
