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Given how new a concept it is, digital legacies can be easily overlooked in a Will.
When most people think of Wills, they tend to imagine their house, vehicles, bank accounts, and other physical assets being divided between their loved ones.
These things have a tangible presence in your life and so are not easily forgotten when you are sitting down to write a Will.
However, with more of us engaging with online spaces in a variety of novel ways, there is a real risk of leaving valuable information out of a Will.
What once was a negligible part of a person’s estate is now becoming an essential focus, so it is important to understand digital legacies and how to manage them.
A digital legacy is the collection of information and accounts that exist in an online space when a person dies.
The shift in the way that digital spaces function has given greater value to the profiles and accounts that exist online.
A digital legacy will include social media profiles, online conversations, photos, videos, gaming profiles, and any websites or blogs that a person runs and owns.
The arrival of legitimate digital financial assets like cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) has further changed the digital landscape, giving online accounts a tangible market value.
There are two important reasons for securing your digital legacy.
Firstly, if you have any digital assets with real-world value, then they will need to be included in your Will for ease of access.
Cryptocurrency and NFTs can be inherited and are considered when determining Inheritance Tax (IHT).
The value of these assets has been known to fluctuate significantly, but the value for IHT purposes is locked at the point of your death.
If any of your social media profiles, websites, or blogs have a market value, such as if you use them for business or are an influencer, then these will also need to be considered part of your estate for IHT calculations.
Beyond the financial reasons for handling your digital legacy, the second important reason is that your digital legacy may have sentimental value for your loved ones.
Increasingly, more of our lives are captured in online spaces.
Social media accounts can be tapestries of the world as we see it, while digital accounts, whether online or offline, can be used to store photos and videos.
Your relatives may struggle to access these in the event of your death, leading to increased grief as precious memories remain forever out of reach.
While it is never wise to share your passwords when you are alive, having your passwords safely stored on a password manager with your Will enables your relatives to prevent your digital legacy from becoming lost.
In much the same way that you would divide other assets, you can appoint an executor of your digital legacy.
By incorporating a digital legacy into your will, you can express your wishes regarding what will happen to it once you are gone.
You can make provisions about what should be deleted and what should be distributed, as well as to whom would most benefit from receiving photos or videos.
By giving your relatives access to your social media accounts, they can more easily change them to memorial pages or close them down depending on your wishes.
For the benefit of all involved, ensure that the person named in your Will to handle your digital legacy is someone who is technologically savvy.
Despite the increasing role it plays in all of our lives, too many of us are neglecting the significance of our digital lives, particularly when it comes to creating a Will.
Being organised with accounts, passwords, documents, and digital wallets allows for your digital legacy to be handled efficiently an in accordance with your wishes.
Regardless of whether you have a Will or are yet to write one, it is time to include provisions for your digital legacy so that you can make things easier for your loved ones after you have gone.
We are here to help you write the perfect Will and can offer professional guidance on the steps you can take to better prepare your estate so that all assets, physical and digital, can be distributed according to your wishes.
Don’t let your digital legacy die with you. Speak to our team today.
Head of Wills, Probate and Older Client Services
I joined Mander Hadley’s Wills, Probate and Older Client Services Team in 2018.I specialise in the preparation of Wills, Probate and estate administration, trusts and trust administration and Lasting Powers of Attorney. I also have experience of care fee planning and appeals of Continuing Health Care decisions.
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