For decades, estate planning focused on homes, bank accounts and investments. Today, the list of assets that matter after death or incapacity has expanded to include email accounts, social media profiles, websites and even income-producing online platforms.
That shift is forcing families and advisors to confront a new question: Is a traditional will enough in a digital world?
According to estate planning attorney Harry Margolis, the short answer is yes – with caveats. While consumers do not need a separate legal document called a “digital will,” they do need to think carefully about how their digital lives will be managed when they can no longer manage them themselves.
In a recent interview, Margolis explained how wills, passwords, and service agreements affect access to digital assets after death. What follows is an edited transcript of that conversation, revised for clarity and brevity.
Robert Powell: Oftentimes, estate planners will tell you that you need a will. But increasingly, in a digital world where you have a Google email account, an Apple ID or a Facebook account, people are wondering whether they might need a separate digital will. Here to talk with us about that is Harry Margolis, author of Get Your Ducks in a Row. Harry, welcome.
Harry Margolis: Good to see you again, Bob. Happy New Year.
Robert Powell: Happy New Year to you as well, Harry. It’s a question on a lot of people’s minds: Do I need a separate digital will on top of a regular will?
A digital will gives access to social media and other online accounts to a personal representative.
Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash
What is a “digital will”
Harry Margolis: Yes and no. It depends on what you mean by a digital will. You don’t need a separate legal document. You can add a provision to your will that gives your executor or personal representative the power to manage your digital and online accounts.
The problem is that this only goes so far, because all of your online accounts are governed by contracts with the service providers. Whether it’s Facebook, Google or Twitter, we all check those boxes agreeing to terms we don’t really read.
But it’s hard to fight those companies. You’re governed by those service agreements, and they say what happens if you no longer have capacity, whether because you’re incapacitated or no longer alive, to manage the account.
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Usually, they allow you to name someone. If you think of a digital will as stepping through the hoops necessary to designate someone and giving them guidance, that’s where it can be useful. That might include writing down passwords and listing which accounts they should be looking at.
That kind of document isn’t technically a will under state law. It’s more of an informal digital will that guides the person you’ve designated to access your accounts and carry out your wishes.
Digital assets and traditional estate planning
Robert Powell: In addition to social media accounts, some people own URLs, which I would view as an asset. In that case, would that be covered in the digital will or the will itself?
Harry Margolis: That’s more likely to be governed by the will itself because it’s an asset. Some URLs have more value than others. The practical ability to access it, such as usernames and passwords, might be part of your digital will, but it’s the will itself that conveys ownership.
If your will says everything goes to your children, then the URL is part of that property going to them.
Access and continuity issues with a digital will
Robert Powell: In the case of a URL that’s a functioning website, someone would need to know the password to GoDaddy and make sure payments are still being made to WordPress so the site doesn’t get shut down.
Harry Margolis: Right. Practically, people often have access to a computer or email account. If someone is monitoring your email, they may be able to deal with renewal notices. But it’s certainly a lot easier if they know your username and password. That’s where the so-called digital will, a side document conveying this information, can be helpful.
Income-producing digital accounts
Robert Powell: Some people also have Substack accounts with subscription fees or YouTube channels earning revenue from paid views. Those are digital assets that need to be accounted for.
Harry Margolis: Yes. The accounting might be in the digital will, but the conveyance is in the traditional will.
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