It seems that as time goes on, you have more assets you cannot see than assets that you can see.
Rather than deciding which beneficiaries will receive your movie collection and the stack of money in your safe, you likely have movies on a digital platform and money invested in several bank accounts. Unfortunately, unless your estate planning documents leave details about access, your loved ones could have difficulty receiving what you leave for them.
Here’s what you should keep in mind when creating your estate plan so that your digital assets do not get forgotten.
Inventory what you have
In the past, your loved ones could look through your belongings and discover assets that you forgot to include in your will. Digital assets are not as simple to find. Unless your loved ones know what you have and how to access it, they may not know it exists.
As you create and use your digital accounts, keep a record of what the account includes and how to access it. You may want to have a document with account listings with your estate plan. Even if your usernames and passwords change between now and when you pass away, a log of the accounts can give your loved ones a good place to start.
Read the details
When you open a digital account for certain assets, like movies and music, there are often limitations to how long you own the asset. For several platforms, you only own the asset for as long as you are alive.
However, you should read what download rights you have. In some cases, your limitations are to the digital version of the asset. Still, you can download it to a hard drive or other media to pass on to your loved ones.
