Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/620826
DIGITAL A SSETS ARE online accounts which you own and access using your computer. Digita l assets include email accounts such as gmail, and yahoo, social networking accounts such as linked in, and facebook, online shopping accounts, and videos on sites like youtube. Not all digital assets have significant monetary value, but some do. Therefore, you need to consider each of these types of assets when planning your estate and drafting your estate planning documents. Planning for these types of assets are important for a number of reasons including, but not limited to, the following: When Planning Your Estate BY JAMES F. CONTINI II, ESQ. BY JAMES F. CONTINI II, ESQ. EXECUTORS. Planning is very important so your executors can make sure that they are aware of all of your digital accounts, passwords and other specific information to allow them to access your digital assets. Executors may need to go to the probate cour t to obtain authority to gain access to your various digital assets. Sometimes, even after obtaining this authority, the executors may still run into problems with the third parties who run the various websites. Therefore, in order to make your executors' lives easier, prepare a separate document outside of your will that lists all of your digital assets and the important information for your executors. IDENTITY THEFT. Another important reason for allowing your execu- tors to be able to understand your digital assets is to make sure that identity theft does not occur after you pass away. Identity theft is becoming an increasingly prob- lematic situation, specif ica lly for those individua ls who have passed away. It is very common for an individual who has passed away to have their identity used by unscrupulous individuals. If your Executor is aware of all of your digital assets, he or she can take the necessary steps to make sure identity theft does not occur after your death. MAKE SURE ALL POSSIBLE VALUE IS OBTAINED BY THE EXECUTOR. Since some digital assets do have va lue, it is very important to make sure that your executor has all of the information that he or she needs in order to provide the most value to your estate. Therefore, it is very important that you make sure that your executor has all pertinent information including any password protected material which allow them access. If you have named someone as your executor, then you have made a conscious decision that you trust them. Therefore, it is very important that you allow them all the necessary information that they will need in order to access your digital assets in order to make a decision as to their value. Digital assets are becoming increasingly more valuable in an individual's estate. Therefore, please make sure that you plan to allow your executor to have access to those items. I do not recommend that the information be placed in your last will and testament, since that will someday become a public document. However, at the same time that you execute your will, you should execute another contemporaneous document which lists all of your digital assets and any information which your executor would need in order to access those digital assets. James Contini is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law by the Ohio State Bar Association . He is a Director at the law firm of Krugliak , Wilkins, G rif fiths & Dougherty Co., LPA in Canton , Ohio. ■ NOTE: This general summary of the law should not be used to solve individual problems since slight changes in the fact situation may require a material variance in the applicable legal advice. DIGITAL ASSETS Conside 2 6 2 6L E G A L E A S E