The Importance of Digital Estate Planning

 Posted on August 04, 2023 in Estate Planning and Administration

Regardless of whether you have an estate plan in place yet or not, if you are an adult in the U.S. and you have not yet engaged in digital estate planning, it is time to make some effort in service of this particular legally-enforceable endeavor. No matter what your circumstances may be, digital estate planning will help to ensure that your wishes concerning your digital footprint are ultimately honored in the event of your medical incapacitation or death. Making this effort will also help to ensure that you do not leave behind a digital mess that your loved ones will be compelled to clean up.

Protecting Your Interests

Take a moment to estimate how many password-protected accounts you access online every month or two. If you are like most adults, you bank, share digital media, upload evidence of memories, network, and otherwise engage with the electronic world via dozens of accounts on a fairly regular basis. Creating a digital estate plan will allow you to articulate what you want to bef done with those accounts – and by whom – in the event of your death or incapacitation so that those wishes can become legally enforceable.

Mitigating Stresses for Your Loved Ones

If you do not leave behind any directions for your loved ones, they may not be able to access your accounts easily. And even if they can get into your accounts, they may not have any idea what you want them to do with them or any of the assets associated with them. They will need to guess what you would have wanted, which can be a very stressful reality for individuals who are grieving.  

Speak with a Client-Focused Tarrant County Estate Planning Lawyer to Learn More

As the Digital Age is still in its infancy, the area of law that governs digital estate planning is new and ever-evolving. Speaking with the savvy team of Tarrant County, TX estate planning lawyers at Cain & Kiel Law can help you to better ensure that your digital estate planning efforts are enforceable and compliant with the law as it develops over the remainder of your lifetime. To start the process of safeguarding your interests and mitigating the risk that your loved ones will have to clean up your digital mess when you are gone, consider scheduling a confidential consultation by reaching out online or calling 817-645-1717. We look forward to hearing from you.    

Source:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcarlson/2022/07/27/new-estate-planning-rule-dont-leave-an-electronic-mess/?sh=40cf4f0332f9