The entire world has gone online. Internet has made our lives easy to a considerable extent and thus people remain glued to it for long hours. It not only enables us to execute our banking transactions but also allows us to invest in financial instruments such as stocks, mutual funds and so on, sitting at the comfort of our homes. Apart from this, we can interact with and send data to anyone across the world through emails, messengers, internet calls etc. Social networking websites keep people of all ages entertained by providing them a platform that helps them to connect and share their lives with friends, relatives and others with similar interests.

We all keep a lot of our important data and files on our email accounts and post images and videos on online albums and social networking sites. Hey, have you ever thought what will happen to all of your online property after you pass away?

Everyone thinks about leaving behind their physical assets such as land, jewellery and house among other for their loved ones. But not many of you might have thought about making provisions for the transfer of your online assets such email data, photos, videos and so on.

Know that, in case you pass away without making possible provisions for allowing your loved ones to get access to this data, it might become difficult for them to get a hold of your digital property later.

For instance, if you have not made any provisions for the transfer of assets lying in your bank accounts, the banks might not transfer the money very easily. Your family members would have to go through the legal procedures for obtaining what’s rightfully theirs. Even for your important files and other data stored in email accounts etc., your family would have to obtain a succession certificate and approach the court of law for the same. The email account companies won’t give the username and password details to even your close ones without adequate proof.

Now you might be wondering what can be done for the smooth transfer of such online assets after you are gone?

As you appoint a beneficiary nominee for claiming money in your bank account, you must also nominate someone for claiming your digital assets.

It is imperative to include the name of your nominees in your will. If you want some of your loved one to have access to your email accounts etc., then mention that in your will explicitly. You can store your usernames and passwords in an encoded format online. You can also write down the user ids and passwords on a piece of paper and keep it safely in a trusted bank locker. However, you need to be very careful with such confidential information as both storage methods, whether online or offline, are subject to risks of theft.

Remember that, all email account providers and social networking sites may have different provisions. It would be better to contact the company directly, while you are alive, to find out what steps can be taken by you now, to avoid problems for your loved ones later. Also, take the help of a trusted lawyer who has expertise in planning the transfer of such online assets.

PersonalFN is of the view that, you must also include this in the purview of your estate planning activity because be it physical assets, financial accounts or your online data, facilitating their transfer now can make things easier for your loved ones after your death. Irrespective of your age, you must act on planning for your estate at this very moment, as life is quite uncertain and unpredictable.

Add Comments