Don’t Forget Your Digital Estate Plan

You might have key estate planning documents such as a will, trust, power of attorney, and healthcare proxy, but you might be forgetting something: your digital property. Lack of directions regarding how your online accounts can be accessed after your death could pose a problem when it’s time to handle your estate. In an age where almost everything is either online or on a computer, things such as banking and tax accounts could make life difficult for your executors.

“In this digital era, not having access to a deceased person’s online accounts could prove costly,” says estate planning attorney Karin Prangley. Prangley knows from personal experience. In 2009, her father-in-law, a small business owner, suffered a stroke. He relied largely on e-mail to communicate with customers and suppliers; he also received company bills online. Unfortunately, no one had log-in information for his e-mail account. Making matters worse, the e-mail service provider wouldn’t help because of customer agreement restrictions.

“We were unable to communicate with his customers and suppliers,” says Prangley. “We didn’t know what bills to pay and what supplies to deliver where. It was a very difficult time made harder by not having access to the account.”

On the contrary, Terrell Dinkins stores her life insurance policy, banking account information, and passport, as well as her will, healthcare directives, and power of attorney for her and her husband, Jeffrey, 44, in what she calls an electronic vault. The financial adviser for Peachtree Planning Corp. in Atlanta uses a tool called Living Balance Sheet to consolidate information online. She made sure her husband, also her executor and beneficiary, has the appropriate passwords and knows how to access her information in the event of her demise.

“I like knowing that if something should happen to me, [my husband] doesn’t have to scramble. He can go to one place and find everything.” The vault also includes photos of their children, Jordan Elise, 8, and 11-year-old Jeffrey Jr.

“In general, technology adds an extra step to the traditional estate planning process,” says James D. Lamm, an estate planning attorney in Minneapolis. “The extra step for digital property, if we can find it, is gaining access, because it may be protected by passwords or encryption. Also, some Internet-based companies might not let you access the decedent’s digital property,” he says.

Take an inventory.
Take stock of all online accounts (as well as important documents that are s

tored digitally). Don’t forget to account for often overlooked digital assets that may hold significant financial value. Lamm cites examples of valuable digital property, such as virtual real estate, items from virtual worlds in online games, or domain names.

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Lamm says the best way to value your digital property is to put it up for sale on a site like eBay to see what buyers are willing to pay for it. Also check prices that other online auction sellers are charging for property similar to yours.

However, not all domain names or video game accounts have financial value. Nor do eBay accounts, which Lamm says are not transferable. The same goes for accounts with PayPal and Amazon. Outside of the sentimental value to family members, there may not be much, if any, financial value when it comes to Web pages and blogs except in cases where advertising is sold on the pages.

Provide directions for distributing digital assets.
A proper estate plan should outline what to do with your property, digital or otherwise. Lamm notes that Internet-based accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail may not be transferable under their terms of service agreements, but that your fiduciary might be able to request a copy of the digital contents of the accounts.

Choose a secure, central location for all passwords.
Compile a list of passwords so that loved ones aren’t left without access because of password protection or encryption. Also, back up data on external media such as flash drives and DVDs. Web-based repositories such as Legacy Locker and AssetLock store an electronic list of passwords and digital property, making it easier for fiduciaries to access your information.

Appoint an executor who is comfortable with technology.
“It’s no problem to have the same person handle your digital assets and your estate as a whole, or two individuals,” Lamm says, as long as the representative has some computer knowledge. The executor doesn’t need extensive computer expertise, but it can be helpful to have a fiduciary who is familiar in general with technology.