What About Your Digital Passwords?

Digital assets have increased many people’s perception of their estates in recent years. You might not think that your estate is substantial enough to warrant estate planning but this is a mistake that could put your loved ones in the difficult situation of having to sort through things after the fact.

Digital passwords and cryptocurrency are both common forms of digital assets that should be incorporated as part of your estate plan. If you are not familiar with a digital estate plan, you will definitely need one. So much of our lives happen online today, whether it’s your personal, financial or social life, and all of it is managed in these online accounts.

Digital assets include everything like movies you have purchased, log in credentials for websites, domain name ownership and even cryptocurrency. There is also a good chance you backed up your photos or videos online too, meaning that you have a footprint there. Don’t forget about your online shopping accounts, email accounts, social media accounts and those on online locations that have multiple uses, such as Amazon.

Make sure to incorporate inactive accounts as part of your digital estate plan too. If you have online accounts that you have discontinued using in full but contain personal details, you might want to delete this information in full now so that it is not exposed to potential problems, such as identity theft in the future.

You can use a tool like 1Password or LastPass to protect your passwords now, but don’t forget that a loved one or chosen agent needs the mater passwords to those accounts if something happens to you in the future.

For more information about incorporating digital assets into your estate plan schedule a consultation with an experienced estate planning lawyer in VA now.