If you do your banking online, have a social media profile or receive email, you have digital assets within your Florida estate. Therefore, it is important that you account for these assets when creating your estate plan. Doing so may make it easier for your estate representative to settle your affairs in a timely manner.
You can create a document just for digital assets
Ideally, a specific document within your estate plan will be dedicated to letting others know what to do with assets that may exist on a computer, smartphone or cloud server. This document should also contain any passwords needed to gain access to a device, an online account or specific documents that might be on a protected server.
Check your account settings for more options
Facebook, Twitter and other social network providers allow you to decide what happens to your account after you pass with just a few clicks of your mouse. One of your choices might be to have an account taken down as quickly as possible after your death. Alternatively, you can decide to turn a profile page into a memorial that others can view without being able to post any new content. An estate planning attorney may be able to provide more information about what could happen to digital assets when you’re no longer able to control them.
An attorney may help you construct an estate plan that surviving family members can execute in a timely manner. Furthermore, an attorney may facilitate estate planning conversations that can help you better understand what you want to happen when you’re gone. This may prevent conflicts between surviving loved ones that delay the process of settling your affairs.
