Stockport law firm SAS Daniel’s is warning of the potential heartache ahead for loved ones if we fail to make provision for all our assets,including the ever growing collection of digital items, when compiling a Will.
“The public is ignoring the value of their digital assets,
leading to potential heartache for their descendants”,
according to Bik-ki Irving, partner at SAS Daniels LLP, and a specialist in wills, as she strives to raise awareness of how few people are provisioning for the transfer of digital assets when they die.
With recent figures indicating that the average person owns an estimated 3000 digital items such as Kindle books and iTunes music worth almost £15,000, there is a real need for the public to decide how to dispose of digital property. These figures serve to highlight the importance of protecting online assets as without the correct protection in place, descendants could potentially miss out on thousands of pounds worth of inheritance that is in a digital format.
Bik-ki Irving continues:
“In your will, digital assets form part of your estate, something a number of people are unaware of. This can cause problems for loved ones who wish to access the deceased’s digital life. Whilst inheriting something tangible, like a book or music collection, is straightforward, attempting to claim digital inheritance without the passwords is a gateway to a plethora of problems.
“There is the risk that an un-accessed account could be hacked and used for fraud, with no real way of knowing that the account had been accessed by an outside party, not to mention the potential loss of thousands of pounds.
Bik-ki warns:
“It is incredibly important to protect your assets in your will, and this includes all your digital assets. Worryingly, people don’t seem to be aware that they need to include digital assets into their wills and so it is imperative to raise awareness on this issue. That way, people can ensure they have procedures in place so their passwords can be passed on to the necessary persons.
“Often, people have thousands of pounds in assets stored by various digital means, and it is important to protect the digital as it is a physical object, especially as more and more information and media is stored online.
“A good way to do this is to include your passwords with your will, so that they can they be given to the beneficiary when the time comes. It is important to remember, of course, to update your will when you update your passwords, otherwise they are useless. Ultimately, no matter how you choose to protect your digital assets, the most important thing is to plan ahead.”