Lost in Space:
Digital Assets in an Outdated Estate Plan
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Imagine this: Your dad, who you just saw at Easter (using his camera to snap photos of his beloved family at church, the grandkids finding their Easter baskets, the Easter egg hunt, and then the family luncheon) dies unexpectedly two days later of a brain aneurysm. You're devastated, of course, but you're also thinking about the memories just made and the moments he captured on his cell phone –
but the phone is locked. You call the cell phone provider only to be told that they cannot give you any information or access to the phone. The photos are lost forever!!! If only there were a way...
What Are Your Digital Assets?
We live in a very electronic age. Most of us cannot live without computers, cell phones, online banking, automatic bill pay, Facebook, email, etc. We are taught to never share our passwords, and many people take all this security for granted. What happens to these things and your family’s ability to access your digital accounts and devices if you are incapacitated or if you die? If they cannot easily access all that you control digitally, a mess is the result. Granted, some things you want to keep private –
and that is one of the main reasons to have a Digital Estate Plan in place.
This list is not exhaustive, but it is to get you thinking about all of your Digital assets and information your family, power of attorney, executor or trustee will need if you are incapacitated:
- Email Accounts: Account user names and passwords.
- Social Media Accounts: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.
- Instant Messaging/Chat Accounts: Skype, Apple Messages, Google Hangouts, ICQ, Jabber, Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, etc.
- Multimedia Accounts: Instagram, Snapfish, Shutterfly, Flickr, Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, Apple iTunes, Pandora, Vimeo, Spotify, etc.
- Publication Accounts: newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc.
- Cloud Storage Accounts: DropBox, Google Drive, Onebox, Box, etc.
- Databases: Digital Organizers, Evernote, and other repositories.
- Photo libraries: Google, Collage, Shutterfly.
- Cell phones
- Archives & Backups: On-site backups, Crashplan, BackBlaze, Amazon S3, and other off-site services.
- Financial Accounts: Banks, credit unions, brokerage accounts, mutual funds, retirement savings accounts, credit card accounts, employee benefit accounts, PayPal, Social Security.
- Benefit Accounts: Airline miles, railroad miles, hotel rewards, retailer reward/loyalty programs.
- Insurance Accounts: Life, Property, Health.
- Online Merchant Accounts: Department stores, Amazon, etc.
- Online Businesses: Online stores, blogs, and websites, including PayPal, eBay and Etsy.
- Website Accounts: Domain names, hosting services, online business accounts, etc.
- Automatic Bill Pay and Automatic Charitable Donations.
- Employment accounts: Indeed, Career.com, Care.com.
It is imperative that you consolidate all the information necessary to access your accounts. It needs to be in a document that you keep secure, yet easily accessible and understood by your family and your Digital Power of Attorney, Executor or Trustee. Think about all your digital assets, both personal and professional, and think about what they might be worth –
financially and emotionally. Just imagine how your significant other or family will feel if all their credit cards are frozen, if they cannot access precious photographs from your cell phone or, worse, if they cannot access accounts to stop automatic payments.
How Digital Assets Are Controlled
Terms of service agreements and privacy policies govern access to social media and email accounts. Most of these types of agreements state the account expires when a user dies, and they are not transferable. As a result, surviving family members are unable to access social media accounts or valuable digital assets. Most estate plans were created without consideration of these things and old state laws that govern the actions of personal representatives or executors were enacted before email and social media became widespread.
However, since 2013, at least 46 states have enacted laws addressing access to email, social media accounts, microblogging and other website accounts, and certain electronically stored information upon a person’s incapacity or death. In 2016, North Carolina became one of the states that adopted digital asset laws.
Create your Digital Asset Inventory
Your inventory should include all the information that describes your accounts, the access location, login information (including user name and password), and all the other URL and necessary information (aka metadata) that goes along with digital assets. Don’t forget photos, documents, and backups stored in the cloud or in off-site locations. Since this information changes often, it is critical that you review and update the inventory regularly.
Plan for Unexpected Events
Although your inventory will probably be invaluable to you in your daily life, you should plan for two types of unexpected events:
- The computer containing your inventory crashes or there's a house fire that destroys paper copies of your inventory. This shouldn’t be a big problem if you have been diligent about maintaining backups and if you have shared copies with your trusted advisers, including your power of attorney. An in-home safe is one of the best ways to keep paper documents secure from catastrophes, but it has to be waterproof and fireproof.
- You are incapacitated or die and your heirs need access to your digital assets. It is a good idea to identify someone that you trust to be your Digital Executor/Trustee and let them know what you want done with your digital assets. For example, you might want them to:
- Archive everything for your heirs.
- Provide access by specific individuals or groups to designated content.
- Delete some or all of your digital assets. Be specific about your wishes.
- If you want to let your executor decide what to do with your assets, you should make that clear in the instructions.
You might want to archive your most important digital assets and then provide your executor with the information needed to access the archive. If you use 1Password, Google, or some other password manager, be sure to include the master password in the instructions. And don’t forget basic things like the password to your computer and the password to unlock your cell phone. (NOTE: facial recognition and fingerprints cannot be unlocked!)
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Celebrating Life with Shayla
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Managing Partner Stacey Walters was blessed with a beautiful angel for 10 years. Her daughter Shayla, who was born with a heart defect, unexpectedly suffered a cardiac arrest at 5 months old, leaving her severely disabled. In April 2018, Shayla unexpectedly gained her angel wings and left Stacey and her family on this earth. While Shayla forever changed their family’s life, she taught Stacey the meaning of selfless love and that we are never promised tomorrow.
Shayla’s story forms the pillar of our law practice: We are all going to leave this earth, but if we aren't prepared for the unexpected, the people we hurt the most are the ones we love the most! It is too important not to have a plan in place, and everyone needs an estate plan for that unexpected time, but not just any plan –
the perfect plan that easily ensures your final wishes are met while relieving the stress and burden on your family when you are gone!
At Thomas Walters Probate and Estate Planning Attorneys, we build lifetime relationships with our family of clients. We not only help ensure our clients have a current and perfect plan in place, but we give them peace of mind knowing both they and their family can always call on us a trusted advisor when the unexpected happens.
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Upcoming Estate Planning Events
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Register today! 800-769-1561
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Apex
May 15, Wednesday – Peak City Grill @ 6:30 PM
126 N Salem Street
Apex, NC 27502
June 13, Thursday – Peak City Grill @ 6:30 PM
126 N Salem Street
Apex, NC 27502
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Burlington
May 23, Thursday – Cutting Board @ 6:30 PM
2699 Ramada Road
Burlington, NC 27215
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Cary
May 16, Thursday – Lugano @ 5:30 PM
1060 Darrington Drive
Cary, NC 27513
June 11, Tuesday – Lugano @ 5:30 PM
1060 Darrington Drive
Cary, NC 27513
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Charlotte
May 7, Tuesday – Vine American Kitchen @ 6:30 PM
13735 Conlan Circle
Charlotte, NC 28277
June 13, Thursday – Vine American Kitchen @ 6:30 PM
13735 Conlan Circle
Charlotte, NC 28277
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Clayton
June 12, Wednesday – Manning's @ 6:00 PM
406 East Main Street
Clayton, NC 27520
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Durham
May 6, Monday
– Page Road Grill @ 6:00 PM
5416 Page Road
Durham, NC 27703
May 21, Tuesday – Bleu Olive @ 11:00 AM
1821 Hillandale Road
Durham, NC 27705
May 21, Tuesday – Maggiano's Little Italy @ 6:00 PM
8030 Renaissance Parkway #890
Durham, NC 27713
May 30, Thursday – Bleu Olive @ 6:00 PM
1821 Hillandale Road
Durham, NC 27705
June 3, Monday – Page Road Grill @ 6:00 PM
5416 Page Road
Durham, NC 27703
June 18, Tuesday – Bleu Olive @ 11:00 AM
1821 Hillandale Road
Durham, NC 27705
June 18, Tuesday – Maggiano's Little Italy @ 6:00 PM
8030 Renaissance Parkway #890
Durham, NC 27713
June 27, Thursday – Bleu Olive @ 11:00 AM
1821 Hillandale Road
Durham, NC 27705
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Greensboro
May 14, Tuesday – Undercurrent @ 6:30 PM
327 Battleground Avenue
Greensboro, NC 28401
May 22, Wednesday – Bravo! Cucina Italiana @ 11:00 AM
3324 W Friendly Avenue
Greensboro, NC 27410
May 22, Wednesday – Southern Lights Bistro @ 6:00 PM
2415 Lawndale Drive
Greensboro, NC 27408
June 11, Tuesday – Bravo! Cucina Italiana @ 11:30 AM
3324 W Friendly Avenue
Greensboro, NC 27410
June 11, Tuesday – Undercurrent @ 6:30 PM
327 Battleground Avenue
Greensboro, NC 28401
June 19, Wednesday – Bravo! Cucina Italiana @ 11:30 AM
3324 W Friendly Avenue
Greensboro, NC 27410
June 19, Wednesday – Southern Lights Bistro @ 6:00 PM
2415 Lawndale Drive
Greensboro, NC 27408
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Raleigh
May 13, Monday – Nantucket Grill @ 6:30 PM
1145 Falls River Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27614
May 15, Wednesday - Coquette Brasserie @ 11 AM
4351 The Circle at North Hills Street
Raleigh, NC 27609
June 10, Monday – Nantucket Grill @ 6:30 PM
1145 Falls River Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27614
June 12, Wednesday - Coquette Brasserie @ 11 AM
4351 The Circle at North Hills Street
Raleigh, NC 27609
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"Your attorneys are very professional and knowledgeable people who have been very helpful."
-Mr. Pascucci, Cornelius, NC
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Chapel Hill
1777 Fordham Blvd.
Suite 101
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
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Charlotte- North
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ExecuBusiness Center
10130 Mallard Creek Rd.
Ste. 300
Charlotte, NC 28262
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Charlotte- South
Ballantyne Business Center
13850 Ballantyne Corporate Pl. Suite 500
Charlotte, NC 28277
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Greensboro
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Byron Offices Suites
7-B Corporate Center Dr.
Greensboro, NC 27408
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Raleigh- Main
Access Office Business Center
8801 Fast Park Dr.
Ste. 301
Raleigh, NC 27617
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S. Raleigh Cary
4904 Waters Edge Dr.
Ste. 260
Raleigh, NC 27606
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The Pinehurst/West End
5228 NC-211 D
West End, NC 27376
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