As technology has developed, our reliance on digital records has replaced the many paper files locked in filing cabinets. Writing checks to pay bills has been replaced with automatic payments from checking and other accounts. Many of our younger trust clients don’t have or use checks at all. Add into the mix numerous accounts at various financial institutions, and tracking and ultimately identifying all those assets after a loved one’s passing could be nearly impossible.
As with most things in planning, proper and effective communication is paramount to overcoming these obstacles. Recording your passwords and login information in written form and/or with the help of a password management system will help. It is just as important to communicate that information to your successor fiduciaries such as your nominated executor and trustee. You should provide that trusted person or financial institution with the original information and ongoing updates as applicable. Creating a secure method to protect this information for the future, keeping it current, and providing the information to your fiduciary will help ensure your financial well-being later in life and the transition of your wealth to your heirs will be as smooth and efficient as possible. Take inventory of your digital assets. Decide where you want your digital assets to go. Secure your digital Estate Plan and make sure it is legally binding. Provide those details to a trusted person or financial institution.
As with most things in planning, proper and effective communication is paramount to overcoming these obstacles. Recording your passwords and login information in written form and/or with the help of a password management system will help. It is just as important to communicate that information to your successor fiduciaries such as your nominated executor and trustee. You should provide that trusted person or financial institution with the original information and ongoing updates as applicable. Creating a secure method to protect this information for the future, keeping it current, and providing the information to your fiduciary will help ensure your financial well-being later in life and the transition of your wealth to your heirs will be as smooth and efficient as possible. Take inventory of your digital assets. Decide where you want your digital assets to go. Secure your digital Estate Plan and make sure it is legally binding. Provide those details to a trusted person or financial institution.