Digital estate planning is a topic you can’t afford to overlook. As we move further into the digital age, assets like online accounts, digital photos, and even cryptocurrencies are becoming just as important as physical possessions.
Unfortunately, many people don’t consider these assets when developing their estate plans. This oversight can have serious consequences.
What Exactly Are Digital Assets?
Firstly, let’s clarify what we mean by digital assets. Digital assets can range from your email and social media accounts to digital currencies and online investment portfolios. They also include digital files such as photos, music, and important documents.
These assets can hold significant financial or sentimental value. Therefore, including them in your estate planning is vital.
The Pitfalls of Ignoring Digital Assets
Excluding digital assets from your estate plan can lead to a variety of problems. For instance, your loved ones might not be able to shut down or memorialize your social media accounts appropriately. They might also struggle to access financial assets that exist only online.
Potential for Identity Theft
One of the most alarming risks of neglecting digital assets in your estate planning is the threat of identity theft. Criminals could take advantage of a lack of planning and use your online accounts for fraudulent activities.
Financial Consequences
Do you have online savings accounts, stocks, or cryptocurrencies? Failure to include these in your estate plan could mean these valuable assets go unnoticed or, even worse, unclaimed.
Why a Standard Will Falls Short
Many people think a traditional will is all-encompassing. Unfortunately, standard estate planning often misses the mark when it comes to digital assets. Traditional wills typically focus on physical assets and may not even mention the digital sphere, leaving a critical gap in your planning.
Meet the Digital Executor
A digital executor is a person you assign to manage your digital afterlife. This individual will handle everything from deactivating your online accounts to distributing digital assets according to your wishes.
Guidelines for Effective Digital Estate Planning
- Catalog Your Digital Assets: Create a thorough list of all your online accounts, digital currencies, and other digital possessions, including login credentials.
- Name Beneficiaries: Specify who gets what in a clear and secure document. Keep this information safe and private.
- Legalize Your Wishes: Include your digital assets in your will or another legally binding document like a trust if they carry financial significance.
- Designate a Digital Executor: Pick a tech-savvy and responsible person to carry out your digital estate plan.
- Provide Secure Access: Keep all usernames and passwords in a secure digital or physical vault and ensure your digital executor knows how to access it.
- Regular Updates: Just like your traditional estate plan, your digital estate plan should be updated regularly to include new assets and wishes.
The Time to Plan is Now
The importance of digital estate planning cannot be overstated. By incorporating digital assets into your estate plan, you’re ensuring a complete and secure legacy for your loved ones.
Learn More About Estate Planning!
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While he was in law school, he worked as an aide to the late John Sparkman, Senior Senator from Alabama. This gave him the opportunity to gain intimate knowledge of the workings of government, and this background has served him well.
He started his private practice in New York in 1974, the first Sikh to be admitted to the bar in the state of New York.And in 1995, when he narrowed his legal focus to the areas of estate planning and elder law, the prestigious American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys accepted him into their membership.
Special needs planning is an important aspect of the field, and Mr. Khalsa has intertwined his empathy with his expertise to become a leading advocate in this area. Shortly after the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was enacted in 1975, he won the first case in New York that was adjudicated under this law.
S.J. Khalsa has a penchant for philanthropy, and he has raised well over $20 million for charities nationwide. He is a deeply spiritual man who represents the Sikh religion at religious and interfaith gatherings all over the globe.
He believes that successful professionals should contribute to the fabric of their communities, and to this end, he works with law enforcement in New York.
Mr. Khalsa is a graduate of the FBI Citizens Academy program, and he is active in their Alumni Association. He is a member of the FBI/New York Police Department Joint Task Forces on Civil Rights and Hate Crimes, and he sits on the Community Engagement Council that advises the FBI Assistant Director for New York.
He is the author of the highly acclaimed book, Estate Planning Essentials: A Guidebook for Modern Families. Lawyers of Distinction recognized him for his excellence in 2020, naming him a 2020 Power Lawyer, and he is a member of the prestigious American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.
Mr. Khalsa lives in Manhattan with his wife, and he has two grown children and four grandchildren. He likes to travel, and he is an avid golfer. As the co-owner of Kundalini Yoga East in New York along with his wife, he instructs practitioners and aspiring yoga teachers.
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