Digital Assets and Death: Who Gets Your Online Accounts?
Losing a loved one is never easy, and in today’s digital age, managing their online presence can add a layer of stress. From social media profiles to digital bank accounts, email addresses, and cloud storage, these digital assets hold both sentimental and financial value.
Families often wonder what happens to these accounts and who has the authority to access them after someone passes. At Palmer Estate Planning, we understand how emotional and overwhelming these decisions can feel. Located in Cary, North Carolina, we help clients throughout North Carolina, including Chapel Hill, Charlotte, and Wilmington, take proactive steps to protect their digital legacies.
Our attorney can help you prepare your online accounts in the event of your passing and understand who will gain ownership and access to these accounts.
What Are Digital Assets?
The term digital assets includes any online accounts, files, or assets that exist electronically. While many people think only of social media or email, digital assets can also include financial accounts, digital subscriptions, cryptocurrency, and even online business profiles. These assets often contain sensitive information and can carry monetary value, emotional significance, or both.
Recognizing what qualifies as a digital asset is the first step in managing your estate effectively. Once you know what you have, you can make informed decisions about how these assets should be transferred or managed after death. This process often involves legal planning with an asset protection attorney.
Common Types of Digital Assets
Digital assets come in many forms. Some of the most common types of digital assets that our North Carolina clients encounter include the following.
Email accounts, including Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo accounts, as well as other services that may contain personal or financial information.
Social media profiles, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts that may contain emotional and sentimental value.
Financial accounts, including online banking, investment platforms, cryptocurrency wallets, and payment apps like PayPal.
Digital subscriptions, including streaming services, cloud storage, and online learning accounts that may hold valuable content.
Business accounts, including company websites, online storefronts, and digital tools critical to ongoing operations.
Each of these asset types may require different approaches for access and transfer, which highlights the need for comprehensive estate planning and asset protection strategies. With this understanding, you and your family can better protect your loved one's digital assets after their passing.
How State Laws Affect Digital Assets
State laws play a significant role in determining who can access a deceased person’s digital accounts. In North Carolina, the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) provides guidance for executors and beneficiaries to access digital property, but restrictions apply depending on the account provider’s terms of service.
North Carolina courts typically respect a deceased person’s privacy wishes. This means that not all accounts can automatically be accessed, even by immediate family. Therefore, it's important to create a comprehensive plan with an experienced asset protection attorney to reduce confusion and potential conflicts among heirs. Understanding the interplay between state law and online platform policies is essential to protecting digital assets for your loved ones.
How to Set Up Your Digital Assets in an Estate Plan
If you are looking to establish and estate plan, there are specific actions you should take to set up provisions for your digital assets and who will be able to access them after your passing. These include the following.
1. Create a Digital Asset Inventory
Create a comprehensive inventory of all your digital assets. This can act as a roadmap for your executors and heirs, helping them locate and manage online accounts efficiently. Some key factors to keep in mind include:
List all your accounts: Include your email, social media, financial, and subscription accounts.
Record your login information: Safely document your usernames, passwords, and security questions.
Include access instructions: Note any special instructions for accounts that require unique procedures to access or transfer.
Assign digital executors: Choose someone you trust to manage digital assets in accordance with your wishes and goals.
Creating this inventory protects your loved ones from unnecessary stress and potential disputes. Once the inventory is complete, it’s important to integrate it into your estate plan with help from an experienced asset protection attorney.
2. Evaluate Your Digital Assets
Some digital assets are sentimental; others have significant financial value. From cryptocurrency to online businesses and intellectual property, understanding the worth of your assets is crucial for fair distribution. Some factors to consider include:
Monetary value: Establish which accounts have monetary balances, investments, or digital currency.
Business potential: Identify any websites or social media accounts that generate revenue.
Intellectual property: List any digital creations, including ebooks, photos, and software.
Licenses and subscriptions: Include any paid content or services with ongoing value.
A clear valuation helps families and executors make informed decisions about asset distribution, tax considerations, and potential sales. With valuation in place, it’s equally important to consider how disputes can be avoided.
3. Use Legal Tools to Protect Digital Assets
There are several legal tools that can help protect your digital accounts and assets. These tools clarify your intentions and give your loved ones a clear path for managing your digital estate.
Wills: Clearly specify which accounts and assets should be transferred and to whom.
Trusts: Provide a mechanism to manage digital assets during life and after death, with flexibility and control.
Digital asset authorizations: Legal documents that grant specific individuals the right to access certain accounts or content.
Power of attorney for digital assets: These allow a designated person to manage online accounts in case of incapacity, though this may not extend beyond death without additional documentation.
Using these tools in combination gives you the best chance of protecting your digital estate and making sure that your wishes are followed.
4. Work With Online Service Providers
Each platform or service provider may have its own rules for granting access to a deceased person’s accounts. Some may allow family members or executors to request access, while others limit control based on privacy policies. Some key strategies to consider include:
Check the terms of service: Understand each provider’s rules for account access after death.
Use legacy contacts: Platforms like Facebook allow users to designate someone to manage their account after death.
Submit legal requests: Provide the provider with a death certificate, will, or other documentation when requesting access.
Document communications: Keep records of all correspondence with service providers for reference and legal purposes.
Taking these steps reduces frustration and confusion for loved ones while helping them manage digital assets efficiently. With this foundation, your family can better plan for both access and security.
5. Plan for Ongoing Management
Digital assets aren’t static; they require management even after your death. For example, your social media accounts may continue to generate notifications, emails may require sorting, and financial accounts may need monitoring. Some ways to manage ongoing responsibilities include:
Assign a digital executor: Give someone authority to manage accounts according to your wishes.
Regularly update inventory: Keep passwords and account information current.
Designate access methods: Use secure password managers or encrypted documents to provide instructions safely.
Monitor digital assets: Make sure that subscriptions, financial accounts, and online businesses continue to be managed or closed appropriately.
Ongoing management reduces administrative burdens on loved ones and protects the integrity of your digital estate. When all these measures are combined, your family can take better care to properly protect your digital assets.
Privacy Concerns in Digital Asset Planning
While access is important, respecting privacy remains a priority. Some accounts may contain sensitive personal or financial information that the deceased wanted to remain confidential. Balancing access with privacy requires careful planning. Working with an asset protection attorney can help you:
Define which accounts should be accessible and to whom.
Establish boundaries for sharing personal communications or sensitive files.
Draft instructions that reflect both your wishes and legal requirements.
This approach protects both the deceased and their heirs while reducing the potential for conflict. Once privacy is addressed, the focus often turns to valuing digital assets for estate planning purposes.
Experienced Asset Protection Attorney Serving North Carolina
Estate planning is an essential practice for making sure your property and assets are cared for and distributed according to your wishes after your passing. However, an important part of estate planning is establishing provisions for what happens to your digital assets. Working with an experienced asset protection attorney can help you set up guidelines and procedures for what happens to these assets and who will be granted access to them.
At Palmer Estate Planning, we provide skilled guidance and legal support for digital asset planning for our clients. Located in Cary, North Carolina, we serve clients throughout North Carolina, including Chapel Hill, Charlotte, and Wilmington. If you want to protect your online accounts and digital estate, reach out to us today to schedule a consultation and take the first step toward peace of mind.