Digital Assets
When planning for the future in wills, powers of attorney and trusts, you may also need to consider digital assets. Access and control of internet accounts, domain names, banks and business assets may be lost if they are not included. The complexity of the internet may mean long delays in recovering control without careful planning. As the web and internet become more critical in personal and business life, protecting those assets will need to be included in your planning for the future.
Service
- Advice on digital assets
- Digital assets Wills
- Digital asset LPAs
- Web property security
Benefits
- Digital assets safeguard
- Protect online assets
- Personal web security
- Business continuity
Case Example
Digital assets
Mr Jones owns a business that trades mainly through a website he owns, but also via Amazon, Ebay and other similar websites. He owns a domain name, and pays an annual subscription to host his website. To facilitate online trading, Mr Jones has a PayPal account, a CCBill account and has setup online banking.
To advertise, network and socialise, Mr Jones has profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn. All of his personal and family photos are stored on Flickr. He also uses both an IPhone and Blackberry to speed up his day. Both devices are secured with a unique password.
Outside of work, Mr Jones has tried to start running as much of his life online as he can, as he finds this more manageable. This has involved opting for all of his utilities to be dealt with online; his banking and investments are processed fully online; he has movie rental, I-Tunes, Tesco and clothing store accounts; all of which are in credit. Mr Jones also has a number of email accounts that he uses for work and personal use.
Mr Jones drafted a Will many years ago when he started out in business. Although this adequately deals with his ‘physical estate’ – his house, car, watch – does his Will adequately deal with his ‘digital estate’?
The answer is certainly ‘not entirely’. As we move into an increasingly digital age, people are leading increasingly online lives. How will your Executors access funds that you held online; will your business be able to continue trading through your website; who will be able to access your confidential data in email accounts and social websites? These are just some of the many issues that need to be considered when planning for the future.
What happens to your Digital Estate is an issue that affects us all.
