All kinds of virtual assets

Here is part five in my series on digital assets. Today, I will touch on the general concept of why digital assets are important to an estate planner or probate attorney. Wikipedia defines "digital assets" as email, social media, and other online accounts, protected by a password and right to use a specific account. Widespread internet technology adoption has created a class of assets, virtual or digital assets, which estate representatives and their legal counsel need to address. These assets can have material value. Today's estate planners need to be able to recognize these assets and the special attention that they call for. Proper planning for virtual assets today can lead to smooth estate administration tomorrow.

There are more classes of virtual assets than one might think. The issues related to these assets are generally issues of content and access. For the most part, content is an easier issue as most content belongs to the creator and the creator's estate. Some terms of service might change that analysis. For example, Facebook was recently in the news for its claims that it had ownership over everything posted there. Access is the harder issue. Access is easy to deal with when a representative has the decedent's username and password. Be aware that even the use of a username and password by an Executor or Administrator may be a violation of certain terms of service. Things get more complex when a username and password are not available. These materials will seek to point out virtual assets that estate planners and probate practitioners need to consider and how to access them.

Beginning in the next installment, beginning with email, I will provide brief general information on how to deal with a particular account upon the death of an account holder.

Click here for part four
Click here for part six