Preparing Your Digital Estate in Pennsylvania | What You Should Know

As you know, creating a comprehensive estate plan is something everyone should do in their lifetime, as it can help preserve, protect, and ensure your assets are distributed as you intend upon your passing. That being said, some of the most common types of estate planning documents are wills, trusts, guardianships, and more. While you should strongly consider creating all of these documents, one aspect of estate planning that was not so important years ago is vitally important now–digital assets. Please continue reading and speak with our experienced Pennsylvania estate planning attorneys to learn more about digital assets and how our firm can help you plan your digital estate. Here are some of the questions you may have:

What are some examples of digital assets?

In today’s day and age, nearly everyone has digital assets in their possession, even if they do not realize it. Some examples of digital assets are as follows:

• Financial accounts: There is a very good chance that you have certain online bank accounts, stock portfolios, and more. These should absolutely be incorporated into your estate plan. 
• Online rewards programs: In many cases, if you are a customer or employee at a company, you may receive certain benefits from rewards programs online that have a real monetary value.
• Electronic communications: Social media accounts, email accounts, and more all contain data that you may either wish was deleted or preserved. You should provide a list of those passwords and logins for this purpose.
• Digital collections: Digital collections, such as music files, photographs, and more should be accounted for. 
• Intellectual property: Blogs you contribute to/own, online patents, or any other IP you may have stored digitally should be accounted for in your digital estate.
• Digital devices: Devices such as smartphones, laptops, and more all contain valuable data. You should include a list of these devices, as well as their location in your home.

How can I preserve my digital estate and incorporate it into my estate plan?

Once you list these assets and provide your beneficiaries with their access information, such as passwords, usernames, and more, you can also appoint a digital executor. Essentially, a digital executor is a family member or friend that can handle your digital assets so that the executor of your estate can act in accordance with your wishes. Your digital executor can be the same person that is the executor of your estate. For any further questions, give our firm a call today.

CONTACT OUR EXPERIENCED PENNSYLVANIA FIRM

Whether you are dealing with matters involving estate planning, estate administration, or elder law, you need a legal team that you can feel confident will represent your best interests, every step of the way. We are that legal team. Contact Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning today so we can get started.