While many people think of distributing assets such as real estate, bank accounts, and vehicles when planning their estates, it’s important not to overlook assets in digital form. In today’s technology-driven society, most people possess several types of digital assets or have property stored in online accounts that are part of their legacy. It’s vital to take the necessary steps to incorporate the digital assets you own into your estate plan to ensure your loved ones have access to them when you pass away — and they are distributed or managed in accordance with your wishes.

What are Digital Assets?

Digital assets are those that exist in digital format and stored electronically. They can include a wide range of property and have monetary or sentimental value. Some common examples of estate planning for digital assets can include the following:

• Cryptocurrency — Cryptocurrency is a virtual form of money stored on a blockchain, such as Bitcoin.
• Nonfungible tokens — Nonfungible tokens represent ownership of a digital item, such as artwork, collectibles, music, gaming, and virtual real estate. They can also be used to protect intellectual property and verify authenticity of luxury goods.
• Digital media — Digital media can include photos, music collections, book collections, documents, presentations, videos, blogs, websites, and digital subscriptions.
• Cloud storage — Photos, videos, documents, and personal files stored in a cloud such as Google Drive or Dropbox are considered digital assets.
• Email and social media accounts — You can leave instructions for accessing your email and social media accounts in your estate plan.

Online financial accounts such as PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, Apple Pay, and cryptocurrency accounts are also considered digital assets that should be accounted for in an estate plan. Since reward points for hotels and airlines are usually transferable to a beneficiary, they should be included among the assets in your estate as well.

Why is Estate Planning for Digital Assets Important?

Ohio’s adoption of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) makes estate planning for digital assets crucial. Under this law, a fiduciary or the executor of your estate must have explicit authorization to access your digital assets. If you do not specify this authorization in a document such as a will, trust, or power of attorney, your loved ones may be denied access. Notably, some online accounts and platforms allow you to designate an individual who will manage the account after your passing. These instructions would override any instructions left in your estate planning documents.

Importantly, if you fail to include digital assets and online accounts in your estate plan, these assets may not be distributed to your loved ones as you would have wished or intended. In addition, without providing your loved ones with your passwords and access information, these accounts could potentially be locked. This means that not only would your family not have access to assets of monetary value — but sentimental digital assets, such as family photos and videos, could be lost forever.

How Can You Incorporate Digital Assets into Your Estate Plan?

There are several estate planning vehicles that may be available to help you incorporate digital assets and online accounts into your estate plan. You may specify your wishes as to what should happen to these assets when you pass away in a will or distribute them to your beneficiaries through a trust. A power of attorney can allow your designated agent to manage digital assets during your lifetime in the event you become incapacitated.

When estate planning for digital assets, you will need to compile an inventory of the assets and provide clear instructions for accessing each account. Create a document that includes user names, passwords, and the answers to any security questions. Critically, this information should not be included in your will since it becomes part of the public record — it should be recorded in a separate document. It’s essential to inform the executor where this document is stored or provide them with a copy.

You must also designate an individual who will serve as your digital executor. This can be the same person who you have named as the general executor of your estate or a different person who is trustworthy and technologically savvy. Clearly define their responsibilities and the accounts that they will have access to. You can grant them the authority to delete your accounts, memorialize them, or download data.

Review the instructions for accessing your digital assets periodically. It’s essential to ensure your digital executor has the current information — you will need to revise your documents if you have changed any passwords or usernames. Consider using password management tools to keep your passwords current and ensure your digital executor can retrieve the information when needed.

Contact an Experienced Ohio Estate Planning Attorney

Estate planning for digital assets can be complex — a knowledgeable attorney can guide you through the process. At Middleton Law Offices, we can help ensure your loved ones have the instructions they need to access your online accounts and your digital assets are distributed in accordance with your wishes. Contact us today at 419.548.0196 to schedule a consultation to learn how we can help you create an estate plan that will give you the peace of mind you need.

Articles appearing in this column are intended to provide broad, general information about the law. This article is not intended to be legal advice. Before applying this information to a specific legal problem, readers are urged to seek advice from a licensed attorney.