The Importance of Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan

Digital assets are commonly overlooked when it comes time to start making an estate plan. These assets include any accounts that you have online — from career information to your digital movie collection. Given that most of these accounts are protected by passwords, it can be difficult for them to remain accessible once the account holder dies. It’s possible, however, to fold these digital assets into the rest of your estate plan, allowing you to be confident that the assets can be accessed by your loved ones in the event that you pass away.

Speak With a Financial Advisor or Attorney Regularly

In order to best understand how to protect your digital assets and how to make sure that your relatives or beneficiaries have access to these assets, it’s important that you talk with your financial advisor or attorney on a regular basis, as they will be able to properly guide you on how to fill out the necessary paperwork and avoid any potential mistakes. There are a large number of options for an estate planning lawyer in Las Vegas for you to consider, allowing you to select the one that fits your situation.

Record All Passwords and Create an Inventory of Digital Accounts

Before you go any further in protecting your digital assets, focus on gathering all of the passwords to your digital accounts. Keep this list in a safe and protected place so that you won’t lose it. The trustee of your estate plan should be told where this list is being kept. You will also want to take a digital inventory of your subscriptions and accounts at least once every year.

Be as Detailed as Possible

Each asset is different, which is why you want to include details about all of your digital assets within the will that you’re planning. These details should also include a statement that authorizes someone to handle these assets once you’re gone. If you want to provide these assets to someone other than your main beneficiaries, you need to state this in the document.