When you are writing up a new will for your Illinois estate, your mind probably goes to the big items that should be allocated for disposal. You have probably considered what to do with things such as your home, cars, personal property and financial accounts. However, the advances of modern society mean that there are many more things today that must be accounted for when doing your estate planning. How should you treat digital assets in your will?
According to Forbes, traditional asset planning has become more complicated since it now must be modified to account for digital assets. There are many different kinds of digital assets that you should consider. Some of them have monetary value, such as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Provisions in wills should be established in accordance with a law called the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Asset Act, or RUFADAA, which dictates the rules and regulations with respect to digital accounts.
Other digital assets are more private and sometimes sentimental in nature. You should consider whether you want to specify in your will to have your email accounts deleted, or whether certain messages might be preserved or given to designated beneficiaries. To do so, you must include passwords for your computers and different accounts, and be sure to update them from time to time. And consider things with an emotional connection, since if you have a large photo collection on your computer, there is a great likelihood that your loved ones are going to want it.
This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice.
