The New Digital Debate: What Happens to your digital assets after you die?

Posted by on Aug 26, 2014 in Digital Estate Planning |

blog Amidst the rollercoaster of emotions, planning of the funeral, writing of the eulogy and hosting far away relatives, the passing of a family member is not an easy one. With the advent of digital assets, not only are you transitioning their death in the physical world, spiritual world and mental world but also the digital world.

A new law in Delaware called the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets and Digital Accounts Actallows a beneficiary access to the digital assets of the recently deceased.

This includes emails, social media accounts, health records, cloud storage and access to Grandma’s Farmville account. Some companies including Google and Twitter are already offering users the option of assigning a beneficiary. On Google, for instance, a beneficiary is contacted if an account is inactive for a certain period of time. This gives the beneficiary access to emails (Now an even better reason to start cleaning out that inbox!), ability to shut down the account or even set up an auto-reply message to friends.

Twitter also provides this service, but requires a death certificate prior to access.

Supporters of the new law hope that this legislation will spread to other states, assisting family members during these troubled times.

Whether it’s funeral flowers or a Farmville finale, Delaware-ings are provided more access to there loved ones digital accounts. Perhaps this is something that will make its way to the good ol’ Sunshine State.


 

Wild Felice & Partners is a full-service, Fort Lauderdale, Florida based law firm with a specialty in estate planning, asset protection, elder law, and probate administration. To learn more, Please contact Wild Felice & Partners, South Florida Estate Planning Attorneys at http://wfplaw.com/

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Before You Participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge, You Should Do This…

Posted by on Aug 21, 2014 in asset protection, estate planning |

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The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has become a viral Internet sensation, raising over  $15 million so far for the ALS Association to research Lou Gehrig’s disease. Not only has this phenomenon multiply donations to find a cure, but it has also spread ALS awareness.

Awareness of this terrible disease can make you think about the sudden changes life can bring regardless of whether you know someone who has been affected by ALS.   Regardless of age or health, it is never too early to start planning ahead because you never know what the future will bring to you or your loved ones.

A proper estate plan will answer three key questions: what are your assets? Where are they going? How will they get there? These questions are simple but the answer can be quite complicated. The planning process takes time and varies depending on the particular circumstances of each individual. An estate plan is a living entity; as factors in your life change, your plan should be altered accordingly. With the assistance of the right attorney you can choose from a variety of estate-planning techniques in Florida to create an estate plan that fits your needs and wishes such as:

  • Living Trust & Assignment of Property – a living trust allows you to distribute your assets while ultimately avoiding probate (the legal process of determining whether a will is valid). Re-examine your income stream and how you will want your assets distributed after your death. This is a good time to look at your entire estate and determine if you will need additional tax planning.
  • Last Will & Testament – this is your traditional will that is used upon death to distribute property to beneficiaries, specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children. You may want to change who you have designated as a guardian, or burial requests.
  • Durable Power of Attorney – this allows you to designate and authorize someone to legally act on your behalf, in the event that you become incapacitated. As time goes on, you may want to change who will have the power to make financial decisions on your behalf. Furthermore, you want to ensure that your power of attorney document provides “super powers” to allow the agent to make decisions regarding retirement accounts, public benefits, gift exemptions, disclaiming property, and similar provisions that have financial consequences to your estate.
  • Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – this outlines important healthcare decisions in advance, and appoints a healthcare surrogate to make healthcare decisions for you when you become unable to do so yourself. You may decide that you will not want any life prolonging procedures in the event that you have one of the following conditions: (i) terminal condition (ii) end-state condition; or (iii) persistent vegetative state. In this case, you want to ensure that you have such wishes outlined in your living will.

Planning for the future and using the technique that’s right for you will protect your family from hassles when the time comes. Get ahead of the other 50% of Florida resident and get an estate plan now. It’s never too early to plan ahead.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation. It’s a Wild world. Are you protected? SM

 

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Digital Estate Planning: What You Need to Know

Posted by on Aug 12, 2014 in Legal News |

wildblogIn a world of paperless statements, life is much less cluttered and complicated. Unless you die of course.

The digital forms of your will, finances, business, personal and administrative documents probably reside online, guarded by a complex password of your dogs name or a string of random numbers. While we congratulate you for making your password so difficult to decipher, this will one day be a major problem after you die. Often, family members are denied access or may not even know this account exists.  In fact, 63 percent of people don’t know what will happen to their digital assets when they die, according to a survey by Rocket Lawyer, an online legal service.

By creating a digital estate plan you are giving your loved ones:

  • Access to these accounts online,
  • Ability to transfer digital assets to the appropriate parties
  • Capability of determining if an account needs to be submitted to probate
  • Avoiding Online Theft

In addition to your bank statements, personal and business documents, do not overlook your email accounts, online retail accounts (Paypal, Ebay or Amazon), Social Media Channels (ie. Facebook, Instgram or Twitter), Utility bills you pay online or a digital wallet.

Since most of us are cruising the web so frequently, this task appears quite daunting. We suggest that you create digital inventory overtime, keep the list close to your computer so you can continually add to it when you are reminded of a particular site.  In this list, include instructions for what should happen to each account. Would you like it deactivated or allow someone to log in and use?

Once complete, keep this list in a safe spot. One option is the safety deposit box at your bank.

Lastly, it is important to name your “digital executor.” This is the person you designate to carry out your digital estate plan upon your death, ensuring that your end-of-life requests are met. Make sure this person is written in your will and is able to carry out your wishes.

Our lives are online and we must be proactive to protect those digital assets. Let your love ones grieve and celebrate your life instead of leaving them with the hassles of finding your passwords and online accounts.

To learn more, Please contact Wild Felice & Partners, South Florida Estate Planning Attorneys at http://wfplaw.com/

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