As the world becomes increasingly focused on technology, many people are realizing that their assets aren’t just physical items like vehicles or furniture, and that some are actually housed in a digital space. Whether or not you should include these digital assets in your Will depends on their significance to you and how you want them to be managed or distributed once you have passed away.
Let’s take a look at some of these non-physical assets you may own in order to better determine their place in your Will.
Online Finances
Whether you have online banking or investment accounts or you’ve obtained virtual currency, it’s essential to consider your digital accounts and online financial assets when creating your Will. Working with an experienced Baltimore County estate planning lawyer can help you choose which financial assets to include and provide guidance on distributing them to your desired family members, friends, or other parties.
Digital Accounts
From social media profiles on Facebook and Instagram to subscriptions for products and software, the average person has multiple different accounts that are registered online. Some of these accounts might be more important to you than others, so it’s a good idea to make a list of your existing digital accounts in order to determine which you’d prefer to include in your Will.
Income-Generating Works
Whether you’re a freelance graphic designer or an established professional that produces some form of online content in exchange for income, you can ensure your digital works live on through proper estate planning. The unexpected can occur at any time, and including these digital assets in your Will allows you to put your online works in the right hands if you become unable to manage them yourself.
Business Assets
If you own a business that has adapted to digital technology by creating a website, selling products online, storing vital documents digitally, or registering online accounts under your company name, it’s likely that you’ll need to consider these online assets.
Estate planning for your business helps you ensure your company will be in the right hands once you are no longer able to manage it, and including digital assets like website domains and digital copyrights or trademarks in your Will can allow for the smooth transition of your business ownership in the event that you become incapacitated or pass away.
Personal Media that is Stored Online
Whether you store images you’ve taken, emails you’ve received, stored an online platform, it’s likely that these items have some sort of meaning to you. Whether or not they are considered assets that will need to be included in your Will and properly distributed is dependent upon the nature of the content itself, but planning for family members to be able to access these treasured digital items is important.
Looking for an Estate Planning Lawyer in Baltimore County?
In order to ensure that your Will includes all of the physical and digital assets that are most important to you, as well as the documentation needed in order for it to be carried out according to your wishes, seek guidance from a professional Maryland estate planning lawyer.
DK Rus has practiced estate planning law for over 25 years and is dedicated to helping residents of Hereford, Sparks, Monkton, Freeland, White Hall, Cockeysville, Hunt Valley, and throughout Northern Baltimore County make solid plans for their futures.
Contact us to request your free consultation and begin planning for the future care of your family and assets today.
