Since digital assets are not tangible property, you may fail to remember that they exist while drafting your estate plan. But that could become a costly mistake for your family. Here are three digital assets you don’t want to miss in your estate planning.
Cryptocurrency and NFTs
Your cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are valuable digital assets. However, unlike bank accounts, your loved ones cannot easily access them. In most cases, your private key or recovery phrase could be the only way to access them. Since adding such sensitive information to a will is not safe, you may set up a secure method to access them through your estate plan.
Loyalty rewards
You may never have considered your airline miles, hotel points or credit card rewards as “real” money. However, these accounts can be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars in transferable value. The challenge is that each program has its own rules about what happens upon your death. Some programs allow points to be transferred, while others may not permit transfers at all. Nevertheless, without a record of these accounts, your family may never know whether the points or miles can be transferred.
Social media
To protect user privacy, social platforms don’t usually give access to your loved ones after death. Under the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, you can authorize your personal representative to access your social media accounts as part of settling your estate. It is also worth knowing that many social platforms have their own legacy or memorialization tools and those platform-level settings may take priority over your estate planning documents.
Take stock of your digital life
The assets that make up your estate are no longer limited to what you can see and touch. From cryptocurrency wallets to airline miles, you should plan for digital property as thoughtfully as any other part of your legacy. An estate planning attorney familiar with Minnesota law can help you identify what you own, document it properly and make sure your personal representative can access it when needed.
