Coming to grips with digital estate planning

On Behalf of | Jun 6, 2023 | Estate Administration

Planning your estate in New Jersey has become both easier and more complex with the rise of the internet. How well you can adapt to new conditions will depend on your knowledge of the digital realm and how it works.

What is included in a digital estate?

In broad terms, digital estate preparation isn’t all that different from other forms of estate planning. The main points of departure will be the specific items that you include in this realm. Some of the most common items included in digital estates are:

  • The contents of your various social media accounts
  • All of your website and domain names
  • Data related to your online stores and other business ventures
  • The whole of your collected software and codes
  • Your online media, including videos, pictures, and other material
  • Financial assets that you hold in the digital realm
  • Records related to the assets that you hold in this area
  • Content from your various phones, hard drives and other devices
  • Data that you are currently storing on the cloud

Digital assets are part of your estate

Keep in mind that the contents of your digital estate are not separate from the rest of it, so the various documents that you hold in digital form should be included in your will along with your physical assets.

This is more crucial than ever considering that the contents of a cellphone or a family-owned website can nowadays be worth millions of dollars. They can be heirlooms that you bequeath to safeguard your loved ones’ futures.