Making Arrangements for Your Digital Assets in the Information Age
Estate planning
Making Arrangements for Your Digital Assets in the Information Age
Most people know the benefits of a good estate plan. Comprehensive estate plans help you designate a guardian for your minor children, a personal representative to administer your estate if you die, and a fiduciary to make financial and health decisions if you are incapacitated. You can also individually assign your real estate, cars, life insurance, and financial accounts to specific people upon death.
Digital assets, on the other hand, can easily be overlooked. If you use your computer or smartphone to manage your accounts and make purchases, you have digital assets. Failing to consider these assets makes administering your estate more difficult and some of your assets could be lost forever.
In 2016, Arizona enacted The Digital Assets Act to specifically provide fiduciaries with the authority to access, manage, or distribute a deceased or incapacitated person’s digital assets. Digital account encompasses more than just the accounts you use to access and control your financial, medical, insurance, and utility accounts and the files and your mobile devices and computers. Under Arizona law, "digital asset" means an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. These can include email and social media accounts; subscriptions; digital marketplace accounts (e.g. Etsy, Amazon); online subscriptions; purchased content like digital books and videos; photos or digital art; online dating accounts; blogs and websites; apps; cloud storage; and loyalty benefits (e.g. credit card points or frequent flyer miles).
I recommend taking the following steps to manage your digital assets:
Take an inventory of all your digital assets, starting with categories described above. Include a list with the rest of your estate plan and update it from time to time so it stays current
Consider designating a beneficiary for your digital assets, where an online tool is available. (E.g. a “legacy contact” in Facebook, or an “account trustee” in Google
If you don’t want your loved ones to have control of any specific accounts, like a dating profile or private messages, update your estate plan to exclude these accounts
Post written by Anjali Patel, Attorney at Law. For more information or to schedule a consultation regarding estate planning, please fill out the form on this page or contact our law firm at (602) 456-0545.