Other Estate Planning and Probate Topics Attorney in Fairfax, Virginia

Why is it so important to consider digital assets in estate planning?

More In This Category

View Transcript

Well, digital assets are a relatively new phenomenon and law tends to be a few years behind the rest of the world, so here we are dealing with digital assets. These are your passwords, your Facebook page, your other social media page, your ability to get to your finances and other assets in your life through the internet. The problem with those is that you own your own passwords and user names and all of those things and if somebody else ever needed, you know a trusted person like your agent under a power of attorney or your executor if you had passed away, if they needed to get to those digital assets they may not have the authority. Even if they’ve been named your agent or your executor in the case of a person who’s passed away, they may not have the actual authority to get into your digital assets. And without that authority, they internet service provider or the person who controls the asset may block you. So oftentimes we’ve found that it’s as a preventative device, as a preventative device so that you can get to those assets, we’ll actually put those powers right into your will, your trust, or your power of attorney.

Fairfax, VA estate planning attorney Christopher T. Craig talks explains the importance of considering digital assets in estate planning.

More Videos From This Lawyer