Recently, Facebook has been receiving more attention than usual. There was a lot of reaction following the company’s IPO, its stock going public, and of course Mark Zuckerberg’s surprise marriage to Priscilla Chan.

So what does Facebook have to do with South Florida Estate Planning? More than you think.

Many of us are avid users of Facebook and we realize that our daily lives revolve around social media and profiles including Twitter, Flickr, and LinkedIn. However, most of us fail to consider what will happen to the online content and how our identities will be handled after we die. There’s more to it than that.

The Internet has become our new reality. Every day we are glued to our computer screens checking our multiple email accounts and paying our bills online. Business transactions have virtually gone paperless. We rely on our digital assets such as Netflix, Pandora, iTunes and anything else that requires a monthly fee.

What’s most interesting is that the U.S. government strongly suggests making a social media will. Like with a traditional will, an online personal representative will need to be appointed to close all your email addresses and social media profiles such as Facebook. You may decide to keep your social media profiles for friends and family as a memorial profile after you die.

Your digital assets must be accounted for in order to ensure proper distribution upon death. Because almost everything is done online, don’t forget to consider any online data you may be in possession of such as online bank accounts, investment accounts, bill paying accounts, and e-books. These relevant accounts along with username and passwords should be stored in your estate planning documents.

We can’t take for granted what’s consistently in front of our eyes. Our digital assets are just as important as any other assets owned and should be part of your estate plan.

If you have family, friends or even a charitable intent, the absence of an estate plan is inexcusable. For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?