The term “digital assets” refers to the possessions you access on a digital device such as a laptop, mobile phone, tablet or personal computer. They are normally accessed via an online account run by a third-party provider such as Google, Facebook, Netflix, Apple, Microsoft or Amazon.
Examples of digital assets are digital photos, digital music accounts or videos that are stored online and accessed by logging into a personal account with the provider. Other examples are emails, conversations on social media platforms, online gaming sites and online family ancestry databases.
People also access their actual financial organisations such as bank accounts, credit cards, investment portfolios, pensions, utility bills, mobile phone accounts using online accounts. Although these are not a digital asset as such, they can only access them by logging on to a digital platform with a username and password.
We would recommend that the executors of your Will have access to this information so it can be dealt with as part of your estate administration.
How should I plan ahead to deal with my digital assets?
- Create a digital log with details of all online accounts, login and password details.
- Keep this log secure and review and update on a regular basis (you can place a copy with your Will)
- Perhaps consider using a commercial password manager as a gateway for all your passwords.
- Let your executors know where this information is stored but you should not give them access to your passwords or pin numbers in your lifetime
- Decide what you want to happen to your digital assets when you die. Some internet service providers (ISPs) will permanently destroy your digital assets after a period of inactivity if someone does not have the authority to access them.
- Create hard copies on an external hard drive or on a USB stick.
- Decide who can access your email accounts and ensure they do not contain anything of a sensitive or confidential nature
- Decide what happens to your loyalty cards – these can be gifted under your Will.
- If any assets you hold online have intellectual property rights attached to them (such as original literary or other artistic works like books or paintings) consider including them in a separate legacy in your Will with separate executors to deal with succession to and exploitation of those rights.
- If you hold crypto assets such as Bitcoin, you should note down details of the public and private keys held in any digital wallets and arrange for the details to be stored securely. You may want to include a specific legacy in your Will to deal with your
For further information, email nb@cbglaw.co.uk and Nosheen will send you our FREE downloadable guide on all matters relating to effective estate planning and protection of your assets.
