Posts Categorized: Digital Assets

Bills and Services to Cancel and Keep – When a Loved One Dies 

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law August 11, 2023 Digital Assets, Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills

A loved one’s passing is challenging on many different levels. In addition to the emotional difficulty of processing someone’s death, there are also the many tasks that must be dealt with, such as going through their various accounts and taking the necessary steps to cancel them or transfer ownership. 

Most people subscribe to multiple digital subscription services in addition to utilities, insurance, memberships, medical prescriptions, and other recurring payment programs. Settling these accounts helps avoid unnecessary charges and protect against identity theft and fraud. If the duty to handle outstanding accounts falls to you, you will first want to identify which accounts your loved one held and then figure out what to do with them.  READ MORE

How To Manage Your Digital Accounts After Your Death – Part 3

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law November 15, 2022 Digital Assets, Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills

In part one and two of this series, we covered the processes that Facebook,  Google, Instagram, Twitter, and Apple offer to manage your digital accounts following your death. Here in part three, we’ll conclude this series by covering the most effective methods for including digital assets in your estate plan.

If you’re like most people, you likely own numerous digital assets, some of which may have significant monetary value and others that have purely sentimental value. You may even have some digital assets that you’d prefer your family not access at all when you pass away. READ MORE

How To Manage Your Digital Accounts After Your Death Part – 2

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law November 9, 2022 Digital Assets, Estate Planning

Last week, in part one of this series, we covered the processes that Facebook and Google have in place to manage your digital accounts following your death. Here in part two, we’ll continue our discussion, covering how Instagram, Twitter, and Apple’s collection of online platforms handle your accounts once you log off for the final time.

Given that Instagram is owned by Facebook, the photo and video-sharing social media platform’s processes for handling your account after your death are similar – but not entirely the same – as Facebook’s. As a reminder, Facebook allows you to name a legacy contact to handle your death, and Instagram gives you two options for managing your account after death: You can either have your account memorialized or you can have it deleted. READ MORE

How To Manage Your Digital Accounts After Your Death – Part 1

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law November 1, 2022 Digital Assets, Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills

If you have preferences about what happens to your digital footprint after your death, you need to take action. Otherwise, your online legacy will be determined for you and not by you. If you have any online accounts, such as Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Apple, or Amazon, you have a digital legacy, and that legacy is yours to preserve or lose. 

Following your death, unless you’ve planned, some of your online accounts will survive indefinitely, while others automatically expire after a period of inactivity, and still, others have specific processes that let you give family and friends the ability to access and posthumously manage your accounts. READ MORE

Three Things You Need to Know about Cryptocurrency and Your Estate Plan

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law July 15, 2022 Digital Assets, Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills

Suppose you own cryptocurrency that has substantially increased in value or that you anticipate will substantially increase in value. In that case, it is essential to discuss with your estate planning attorney ways you can minimize potential income, estate, and gift tax consequences.

As cryptocurrency increases in popularity, more people have cryptocurrency holdings that must be considered part of their estate. Because cryptocurrencies are generally stored so that no personally identifying information is tied to them, owners of cryptocurrencies must inform their beneficiaries that these assets exist, or they could be lost forever at the owner’s death. READ MORE

What to Know about Non-Fungible Tokens

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law April 1, 2022 Asset Protection, Digital Assets, Estate Planning

A nonfungible token (NFT) is a unique digital code that represents a digital item such as art or music, as well as a growing number of physical items, that runs on the blockchain (a secure, decentralized, and cryptography-backed online ledger) and provides proof of ownership of virtual collectibles. That explanation may confuse, and when it comes to NFTs, confusion, and excitement are present in equal parts.

NFTs can generate new revenue streams for creators and be a store of value for collectors. If you own NFTs or plan to invest in them, you should update your estate plan accordingly. Handing down an NFT is more complicated than passing on a physical item or another traditional asset. But with buzz building around NFTs, they could be among the most valuable things in your estate. READ MORE

What Happens to Your Social Media Accounts at Your Death?

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law December 31, 2021 Digital Assets, Estate Planning

According to Statista, more than 295 million people in the United States use social media. If you are an avid social media user, have you considered what will happen to your accounts when you die? If you have spent time creating, uploading, and sharing content, it is essential to take a look now at what will happen after you pass away so you can determine your content’s future.

Because the process for each account is different, your loved ones must know what social media accounts you have and what your wishes are for their future after you have passed. By adequately laying out your wishes in your estate plan, you can guide your loved ones and reassurance that your legacy will live on. READ MORE

Everything You Need to Know About Including Digital Assets In Your Estate Plan – Part 2

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law August 18, 2021 Digital Assets, Estate Planning

Last week in part one, we discussed some of the most common types of digital assets and the current legal landscape governing what happens to those assets upon your death or incapacity. Here, we offer some practical tips to ensure all of your digital assets are properly included in your estate plan, so these assets can provide the most benefit for your loved ones for generations to come. READ MORE

Don’t Forget to Include Your Digital Assets In Your Estate Plan—Part 2

by Tara Cheever ~ Attorney at Law November 29, 2018 Digital Assets, Estate Planning

Today, estate planning encompasses not just tangible property like finances and real estate, but also digital assets like cryptocurrency, blogs, and social media. With so much of our lives now lived online, it’s vital you put the proper estate planning provisions in place to ensure your digital assets are effectively protected and passed on in the event of your incapacity or death. READ MORE