Most people understand the importance of planning for their homes, bank accounts, and personal property in a will. But in today’s digital world, an increasing amount of our lives is stored online—from financial accounts and investments to photographs, social media, and even cryptocurrency.
Failing to plan for digital assets can leave loved ones unable to access important accounts, result in financial losses, and create unnecessary disputes. At Verhaeghe Law in Edmonton, our wills and estates lawyers regularly help clients include digital assets in their estate plans, ensuring nothing of value is forgotten. For help planning your digital assets within your estate, contact our lawyers today.
What Are Digital Assets in Alberta?
Digital assets are any electronically stored information or online accounts that you own or control. They may have either financial or sentimental value. Examples include:
- Financial assets: Online bank accounts, PayPal, cryptocurrency wallets, or investment platforms.
- Personal content: Family photos, videos, or documents stored in cloud services.
- Social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn profiles.
- Business-related accounts: Websites, blogs, e-commerce stores, or monetized YouTube channels.
- Intellectual property: Domain names, copyrights, or online portfolios.
- Email accounts: Often linked to other services and essential for account recovery.
- And more
As our lives become more digital, ignoring these assets in estate planning creates unnecessary complications.
Why Include Digital Assets in a Will?
There are several reasons to ensure digital assets are addressed in your estate plan:
- Access issues: Without passwords or legal authority, family members may be locked out of important accounts.
- Financial loss: Cryptocurrency or online accounts could be lost if no one knows they exist.
- Sentimental value: Photos or videos stored online may be lost forever without instructions.
- Disputes among beneficiaries: Family members may disagree about who should manage or inherit digital property.
Unlike physical property, digital assets are often password-protected and governed by strict privacy laws. Without clear instructions, executors may not know where to begin after you pass.
Consider someone who owns cryptocurrency stored in a digital wallet. Without knowledge of the wallet’s existence and access keys, family members could lose thousands of dollars. Similarly, years of family photos saved in cloud storage could disappear if account details are not shared.
Alberta Laws & Digital Assets
Alberta’s Wills and Succession Act does not explicitly address digital assets. This makes it even more important to include them in estate documents. Executors may face legal barriers under federal privacy laws or terms of service agreements when trying to access online accounts.
Some companies, like Facebook or Google, allow account holders to designate legacy contacts or provide instructions. But these platform-specific tools do not replace the need for a comprehensive will.
How to Include Digital Assets in Your Estate Planning
- Create a digital inventory: List your important accounts, assets, and where they are stored. Avoid including actual passwords in your will, but keep them in a secure location like a password manager.
- Appoint a digital executor: This person can be responsible for managing your online presence and digital property. Ensure your will gives them the authority to act.
- Provide clear instructions: Indicate whether you want accounts deleted, memorialized, or transferred. For financial assets, specify who should inherit them.
- Update regularly: Digital assets evolve quickly. Review and update your inventory as new accounts are created or old ones closed.
- Integrate with your overall estate plan: Ensure digital assets are addressed consistently with your physical property, trusts, or powers of attorney.
How Our Edmonton Wills & Estates Lawyers Can Help
At Verhaeghe Law, we help clients avoid the risks of leaving digital assets unplanned. Our lawyers can:
- Identify digital assets you may not have considered.
- Draft provisions in your will to give executors authority to manage digital accounts.
- Appoint digital executors and advise on their powers.
- Coordinate digital and traditional estate planning, ensuring no conflicts between documents.
- Provide guidance on privacy and access laws that may affect executors.
- And more
By taking proactive steps, we help clients safeguard both financial value and family memories.
Contact Verhaeghe Law to Protect Your Digital Assets
Your digital life is just as important as your physical property when it comes to estate planning. By including digital assets in your will, you can protect your family from confusion, disputes, and potential loss.
At Verhaeghe Law in Edmonton, our wills and estates lawyers are ready to guide you through the process. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and ensure your online legacy is preserved for the future.