When many people think about their will they tend to focus on all the physical assets such as property or money however with the rapid growth of technology, it’s important we start to consider what happens to our digital assets when we die.
Applications like Dropbox and The Cloud have made it easier than ever to store pretty much everything online these days from, photos, music, movies and even money. A digital asset is something that you have a right over that exists online or in another digital technology. It can have either sentimental value or monetary value depending on what the asset may be. Some examples of a digital asset include:
- Email account such as Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, Outlook
- Social Networking accounts like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram
- Blogs
- Online banking
- ITunes, Spotify, Sound cloud
- Online businesses through Etsy, eBay, Amazon, Gumtree
With many people moving away from paper to a more environmentally friendly way to store their important documents, such as bank statements and invoices online, obtaining this information becomes a much more difficult process for executors. That’s why it is important to be specific about your accounts and provide usernames and passwords to access your digital assets. Your wishes should be clear in your will, whether you want to completely wipe accounts or ensure that people close to you have access to them should be documented.
If you need further information or have any questions contact us on 1300 580 413 and we would be happy to have a chat.