Don’t overlook your digital assets in estate planning

Our lives are becoming more digitized everyday. While that fact has provided a significant amount of convenience, it has also created a fair number of problems. This is especially true when it comes to estate planning. Some people think that only rare assets like cryptocurrency are virtual issues that need special attention during estate planning, but the truth of the matter is that virtual assets are much broader than you may realize. Failing to address them could mean that they become forever lost.

Consider your virtual assets

You might have more digital assets than you realize. While financial assets like a virtual wallet (think Pay Pal or Venmo accounts) and cryptocurrency are certainly included, so are virtually stored photographs and videos. These digital copies may be the only version of your photos, especially if you use a smartphone and backup your pictures using the cloud. Other digital assets might include artwork and other forms of intellectual property that are created using multimedia. Even your social media accounts might hold some value for your loved ones, or you might want to leave instructions to shut these down so that they’re not misused in your absence.

Protecting your virtual assets

The first step in protecting these assets is simply including them in your estate plan. Far too many people overlook them. Next, consider setting up a password management tool that the executor of your estate can access. This will ensure that all digital assets will be capable of management. A digital vault can prove beneficial, too, where you can keep a virtual copy of all of your important documents, including items of sentimental value. Of course, you’ll need to make sure that your executor can access that vault when the time comes.

Be detailed and thorough in your estate plan

Estate planning should be customized to suit your needs. As such, you’ll want to make sure that your plan is detailed, clear, holistic, and legally enforceable. This is easier said than done, of course, and approaching your estate plan on your own can leave you susceptible to a lot of risks. If you’d Ike to obtain peace of mind and ensure that your assets will be dealt with in accordance with your wishes, then it might be time to seek out legal guidance.