Estate planning used to focus mostly on money and tangible assets. People either wanted to pass their financial wealth down to the next generation or they wanted to leave them items that they had purchased with that wealth, such as real estate, homes, cars, art collections, home furnishings, jewelry and much more.
This is still primarily true today, but things have changed. People often purchase digital assets that only exist in electronic form, rather than any tangible form. Is it possible to incorporate these assets into an estate plan?
The specific type of digital asset
It may be possible to plan for these assets, depending on what type they are and how ownership has been defined.
For example, some people will invest in cryptocurrency. This has led to problems when only one person can access the digital wallet and that person passes away. The cryptocurrency could be worth millions of dollars, so they need to set up a system to pass this wealth on to the next generation. This is complex, but it can be done, just as it would be for other financial assets or investments.
But with some digital assets, people don’t actually own them. This is true for a lot of entertainment media like movies, video games, audiobooks or music. People believe they have purchased these assets, but they’ve often just purchased a license to access those assets anytime they want, and that license simply ceases to exist when they pass away. It can’t be transferred to the next generation.
Digital estate planning can certainly be complex, and it’s crucial that all involved understand what legal steps to take.
