Digital property belongs in your will

“And to my beloved daughter, I give the leather-bound album of cherished family photographs.”

Sure, that sounds right for the old days. Today the pics might be on your laptop. We’ve got all sorts of valuable items stored electronically, and it’s time we started treating them accordingly.

What is digital property?

Digital property is text, images, multimedia content or any digital information stored on a computer, electronic device or data storage unit. Some assets will have personal or sentimental value, like online photos and video, social media accounts, blogs and personal websites.

Other items have financial value or importance, including bank and investment accounts, tax records, online subscriptions, bills paid online, and a PayPal account.

Keep all your property safe

If you don’t create a digital property inventory and state your wishes in your will, any number of problems may result. Automatic bill payments could continue. Treasured photos and videos might be lost. Your digital record could be used for identity theft. Your estate administrator could face red tape and headaches trying to access and distribute your digital property.

To help safeguard your digital assets you can:

• Make an inventory of important digital items and accounts along with passwords and security answers (remember to update passwords if you change them).
• Record your wish for each item, whether it’s to be given to a beneficiary, deleted, or handled any other way.
• Add a digital assets clause to your will and power of attorney or mandate.