Creating estate plans is a step that many Georgia residents have already taken. However, if older individuals created their plans years ago, they may have become lax on keeping their plans updated. If so, now may be an important time to review wills and other planning documents.
In particular, parties may want to consider updating their plans to account for assets they may not have had before, which includes digital assets. It is important to address these assets because they can become immensely difficult for surviving loved ones to access after a person’s passing. Often, these assets include pictures posted online or emails that family members have sent to each other, which can hold a great deal of sentimental value. However, they may be hard to obtain if they are password protected.
Additionally, some digital assets can hold actual monetary value, and it is important that those assets are addressed in estate planning documents. If they are not, surviving loved ones may, again, have a difficult time accessing them, and the ownership of those assets may not be exactly clear. Luckily, individuals can provide instruction for handling these assets in their estate plans.
Digital assets are becoming increasingly common as more life aspects are handled online. Because of the monetary and sentimental value of these assets, it is wise for Georgia residents to use their wills and other planning documents to address these assets. Leaving the distribution of and access to digital property up to chance can cause many issues, and parties interested in accounting for these assets may want to discuss their options with estate planning attorneys.
