What happens to your digital assets after death?

Safeguarding your Digital Assets for the future 

It was once usual that a Will would only deal with tangible assets, such as money, property and cars, however, as we are now living in the digital age and many more people own digital assets, the necessity to make consideration for these digital assets, when Estate planning, is crucial. 

Digital assets have become an increasingly important aspect of most of our lives, encompassing everything from our social media accounts to cryptocurrencies. Digital assets can often hold significant value, whether this be financial value or sentimental value. Deciding how these assets are to be handled and managed, after you have gone, is something that is often, but should not be, overlooked when drafting your Will.

Current Legal Stance on Digital Assets

The current legal stance on digital assets is somewhat vague and there is no specific approach of defining digital assets completely. However, we do now know what is to be considered a digital asset and some examples are; social media accounts, digital books, personal websites, photos stored online, email accounts and cryptocurrencies.

If you do not make provision for digital assets within your Will, they would automatically form part of your residuary Estate and pass in accordance with your Will, or via the rules of Intestacy. It is therefore important to consider whom you would like to manage these assets and whether it would be appropriate for a certain person to automatically inherit them, together with the remainder of your Estate, or whether there is someone else you regard more suitable to deal with and manage these assets instead.

Cryptocurrency

There is a growing number of people who are choosing to own cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and these are becoming an increasingly common investment choice for many individuals. As you plan your Estate and consider how all your assets are to be distributed, making consideration for any cryptocurrencies is vital as these form part of your Estate, hold a monetary value and therefore, must be disclosed to HMRC for inheritance tax purposes. 

To ensure that your digital wealth is passed on in accordance with your wishes, it is crucial to keep a detailed record of your cryptocurrency holding(s), including any wallet information, private keys and access information. 

You may even wish to consider appointing a separate or additional Executor to deal with any cryptocurrencies, especially where your original Executor is not familiar with this type of digital asset. 

Ensuring that you maintain the clear records as mentioned and ensuring your Will deals with cryptocurrencies sufficiently, will ultimately help streamline the process of transferring your cryptocurrency over to your chosen beneficiary. 

Social Media

Over half of the population have an online social media presence, however, very few of these users make provisions when Estate planning as to how they would like these online accounts to managed once they have passed away.

Many popular social media platforms include a relatively new feature, which allow individuals to make these provisions. This feature is called a Legacy Contact. A Legacy Contact is an individual whom you would nominate during your life, who would then continue to manage your social media account after you have passed away. 

Responsibilities of a Legacy Contact include managing your account, memorialising your profile, pinning tribute posts and updating profile photos. Selecting your trusted person to carry out this role is not the same as giving them the password to your social media account, therefore limiting access to parts of your account and allowing aspects of your private information to remain that way. 

Ensuring that your Will contains the necessary provisions is paramount in ensuring that your digital assets are seamlessly passed to your loved ones after you have passed away. Our Private Client department can provide these services, addressing your specific wishes and needs and ultimately safeguarding the future of your digital assets.