If you’re running a business, you most likely have some kind of online presence. You have accounts and resources that you use every day to keep your company running smoothly. These are digital assets, and you do not want to forget about them when you make an estate plan of your own. A Woodland Hills, California estate planning attorney can help you with all of this.
What Would Be Considered Digital Assets?
There are many kinds of digital assets that businesses can make use of. Your company probably has assets like:
- Email accounts
- Domain and blog names
- Online banking accounts
- Cloud storage accounts
- Online store and shopping accounts
- Social media accounts
- Any other information relevant to the business that is stored digitally
You could see how an heir to your business might struggle if they cannot access emails or financials after they pass away. These digital assets are important, so making a digital estate plan that covers all of these items and makes critical information available to your beneficiaries is a must.
How Can I Make a Digital Estate Plan?
If you want to create a digital estate plan, you first have to inventory all of your digital assets. Once you know that you have accounted for everything, you decide what is done with each digital asset. Some accounts or memberships can probably just be closed out or ended when you have passed away, but others will need to be passed on to somebody else if you want to ensure a smooth transition.
You can indicate what you want to happen with each account and then you can pick your digital executor. They behave like an executor for your will, but for your digital assets. You want to choose a responsible person who will respect your wishes. Sometimes the executor of your traditional estate and your digital estate can be the same person. In some cases, splitting the jobs between two different people is ideal.
Do I Need an Attorney to Protect My Digital Assets?
If you have any questions about digital estate plans or digital assets, an estate planning attorney from our firm can help you with that. We can make sure that you account for everything and that any accounts that need to be passed down to someone else are properly set up. If you want to be sure that ownership of your business will pass on smoothly to your heirs, taking account of your digital assets can make that outcome much more likely.
Contact Our Law Firm
When you need help protecting your assets, digital or not, contact the Law Offices of Yacoba Ann Feldman. We can help you make a legally binding estate plan that protects your interests and saves your heirs from dealing with legal headaches and any other issues.
