Understanding Digital Assets And Their Importance In Your Estate Planning

Although most people may think of houses, businesses, or other ordinary finances when thinking about assets, since so many area of our lives have transferred to the digital realm, digital assets have become an integral part of the estate planning process.

Digital assets are any online record that a person owns. These online records could contain anything from a blog on cooking to an online rewards program. Failure to maintain and protect your digital assets can lead to serious consequences, especially for industry leaders that use digital accounts as a revenue stream. 

These digital assets may be financial accounts, online reward programs. electronic communication, or digital collections. Despite the the prevalent use and exchange of online data, many people neglect to include their digital assets in their estate plans. If you are one of these people that forgets to include your digital assets, your family members or loved ones may be unable to access your online accounts even if it is just to pay bills. 

In order to prevent this from happening you should make a list of your online accounts and be sure to include them in your estate plans.

See Russel Morgan, Understanding Digital Assets and Their Importance in Your Estate Planning, Forbes, June 8, 2020.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.