If you are an entrepreneur who leverages the digital space to expand your empire, you may agree that your assets are increasingly intertwined with the online world. You may store assets online and use digital entities to manage your finances. However, like most people, you probably have a conventional estate plan that does not address your valuable, and possibly sentimental, digital assets.
This oversight can lead to confusion, frustration and even permanent loss of important digital data after you’re gone. Whether you’ve ventured into cryptocurrency or have domain names that have significant value, you might want to incorporate these digital assets in your estate plan. Remember, the value of your digital assets can extend beyond the financial; they may represent a lifetime of memories, professional achievements and online communities.
Why incorporating digital assets into your estate plan is crucial
Digital entities include an authentication process to help ensure anyone granted access to a website or application is an authorized user. While this is an essential security measure, it can make it almost impossible for your loved ones to access your digital accounts in your absence.
By incorporating these digital assets into your estate plan, you can leave behind proper instructions to help ensure your digital assets are passed down to designated beneficiaries. Certain digital assets, like cryptocurrency holdings, hold immense financial value. Failing to provide your family with the required access codes could result in these assets being lost forever.
Incorporating sentimental assets in your estate plan can also help ensure that your loved ones are left with cherished memories of the life you lived. They can preserve the memories you made to keep their memory of what you built alive,
It’s easy to forget that online subscriptions and memberships continue to accrue charges if you don’t unsubscribe. Without the proper access codes, your family might not have the means to terminate or properly transfer ownership of your online subscriptions and memberships. It can be frustrating for your family to realize that your online subscriptions have been accruing charges without their knowledge.
Unsurprisingly, digital assets can be easy to overlook when planning an estate. By acknowledging and preparing for the management of these assets, you can protect their value and help ensure that they are handled according to your wishes.