What Happens to Your Digital Assets After You Die? Use This Checklist

After someone dies, loved ones are often tasked with sorting through their assets. In the past, this may have involved rummaging through an attic filled with boxes. These days, it also includes combing through online accounts. This can be exhausting work, but a little estate planning and organization can make it easier to manage digital assets.

Why Digital Assets Deserve Your Attention

Have you stopped to think about how much of your life takes place online? The average person has online bank accounts, social media accounts, and email accounts. You may also have digital collections of e-books, music, movies, and games and subscription to online services, such as streaming sites or online magazines. This is in addition to all the family photos and other personal digital assets that most people now have.

Some of these items, like family photos, have sentimental value. Other items, like cryptocurrency wallets, can have significant monetary value. Without planning and organization, all of these items may be lost.

Creating Your Digital Asset Estate Plan

When creating an estate plan that includes digital assets, there are several important things to keep in mind.

• Which assets do you have? You may have far more than you realize. Create an inventory so nothing slips through the cracks. See the checklist below to get started.
• Which assets can you pass down? Some online accounts have terms of service that prohibit transfer ownership to another person, even after death. For example, according to PC World, a Steam support representative has confirmed that Steam accounts cannot be transferred to beneficiaries, but some state laws may give descendants access.
• What do you want to happen to your accounts? This is especially important for things like social media accounts. Do you want the account to remain up, or do you want it to be taken down? Some platforms have special settings. For example, you can memorialize a Facebook account.
• Who do want to inherit your assets? Make plans for both sentimental assets (like family photos) and assets with monetary value (like cryptocurrency).
• What do you want to happen to your copyrights? If you create intellectual property in the form of digital assets, such as manuscripts or artwork, also consider who you want to control your intellectual property and whether you want them to publish any of your work after your death. If you operate an online store, such as an Etsy shop, also consider what will happen to it.
• How will your loved ones access your assets? Your loved ones will need to know what exists, so providing them with an inventory will be helpful. They will also need passwords to computers, phones, digital wallets, and online accounts. Consider keeping a password manager or encrypted document with all the passwords your loved ones will need, and make sure they’ll know where to find this information.

Going Through a Loved One’s Digital Assets

If you are the executor of an estate, part of your duties include creating an inventory of assets. Digital assets can be an important part of this, especially when these assets have significant sentimental or monetary value.

• What digital assets exist? Use the checklist below to check for common digital assets.
• Can you access the assets? This will be easier if you have the passwords. Otherwise, you may be able to recover the accounts using recovery settings or by contacting the companies that host the accounts.
• How should digital assets be distributed? Some digital assets may need to be sold to pay off any debts the estate has. Otherwise, assets will be distributed in accordance with the will or (if there is no will) state law.
• What do you need to do with the accounts? This could involve closing accounts, transferring ownership of the accounts, or moving assets out of the accounts. Some accounts, such as Facebook profiles, can be memorialized.