Digital Assets and your Digital Legacy
These days most of us own and use many IT based devices and hold various assets electronically both online and offline – the fast-paced development of technology has made it inevitable! But how many of us have given our digital assets any serious thought when it comes to succession planning and our Wills?
If you stop and consider your own digital circumstances it can quickly become apparent that your digital assets soon mount up.
You may own a smartphone, tablet, laptop and/or computer. On any of these devices there may be assets of considerable value stored – both sentimental and financial. Perhaps treasured family photographs, videos or audio recordings. You may have valuable documents, emails, a website. Who will be able to access these devices and the digital assets that are stored on them in the event of your death? This can present both legal and practical difficulties. If accessing your devices requires a password that only you know, this could potentially mean loss of all the data stored on that device. Even if you share your passwords with others who can access your devices after death (notwithstanding the security risks this poses), then access could potentially be a criminal offence under section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 if the access is proven to be “unauthorised”. Even if authorised access to your devices is obtained after your death, what should then happen to the digital assets stored on any such devices? Who should have the benefit of those assets? How should they be “distributed”?
You may also hold various online only accounts with financial value – for example a Paypal account, Ebay account or Amazon marketplace account. You may own cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, or digital works of art (Non-Fungible Tokens or NFTs). Care and thought should be given as to what should happen to these digital assets in the event of your death and how each can be accessed. Should any of them be left to particular named individuals or pass as part of your residuary estate? How will your personal representatives be able to access these assets – in particular cryptocurrencies which can require a 64 character “private key” to access (if not held in a wallet by a third-party exchange)? Are there any restrictions on how NFTs can be dealt with in the event of your death and how can these be accessed?
Although the digital world is constantly evolving at a remarkable pace, digital assets generally are now firmly established and are here to stay. It is essential therefore to consider your digital estate when making a Will and planning for the succession of your estate to ensure that your digital assets can be accessed and passed on to your loved ones as you so wish.
