Tag Archives: fiduciary

Where does your Pokemon go after you die?

Everyone today has several online account and is part of the digital world. Are you one of the millions of people playing Pokemon? Are you using real US dollars to make in-game purchases? Do you place a real value on your game progress?

Well what happens to your account when you die? According to a recent Forbes article, if you have online accounts for things like Pokemon, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Gmail, the answer is not a simple one.

First you need to look at federal and state law. At the federal level, there isn’t any direct authority related to digital assets. At the state level, some states have enacted legislation to allow an estate’s executor to gain access to some digital assets upon the death of their owner. However, this legislation does not extend to all 50 states and is not totally consistent in its direction.

Once digital assets are treated more like physical assets, then your will, trust or state succession laws will determine how these accounts are transferred. However, you may not want all of these assets transferred; you may want them deleted on your death. For example, you may not want your spouse to read all of your emails or private Facebook messages. You will need to indicate your wishes in your estate plan.

If you have online accounts at places like Home Depot or Lowes, you may want to direct your executor to pay any outstanding balance and then delete that account so that it can’t be hacked.

Have you read the service agreements that you clicked “okay” for when you signed onto Pokemon Go or Facebook or Gmail. They put restrictions on your ability to share passwords or to transfer the account. “In fact, Pokemon Go’s contract gives you a ‘limited nonexclusive, nontransferable, non-sublicensable license to the application.” What this means is that when you die, your Pokemon Go account is dead as well.

As you can see, online accounts are governed by documents as well as state laws. You need to carefully read the agreements that you “sign” so you can understand what you really have….or don’t. When you prepare your estate plan, make sure that you include a list of the names of all of your online accounts, their passwords and usernames so your family can access your accounts when you die. Develop a plan for the disposition of those accounts when you die. It is an important part of any estate plan.

For more information about your digital estate, check out our book, Access Denied: Why Your Passwords Are Now As Important As Your Will.

Many states join the UFADAA bandwagon

Earlier this year, we wrote about the first state to adopt the new, revised UFADAA (Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act) recommended statute. This statute makes clearer the ways which an estate executor and others can deal with your digital assets when you die.

Indiana, this week, joined the ranks of states that have decided to pass a “law that addresses the rights of a fiduciary, such as a personal representative, trustee, attorney-in-fact or guardian, to access digital property, such as online financial accounts, emails, texts, social media accounts and online document and picture storage.”

Since digital assets are a large part of many people’s estates, this new act has become more important. States are recognizing this and, as of this date, many have either adopted the act or are in the process of considering it.

For information about whether your state has adopted this important act yet, click here.

For more information about digital estate planning, check out our book “Access Denied: Why Passwords Are Now As Important As Your Will” or go to our website www.diesmart.com.

What’s UFADAA and why should you care?

We’ve talked several times about the importance of managing your digital assets and making sure your loved ones will be able to access them when you’re gone.

UFADAA stands for Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. It was developed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and is a recommended act that all states are encouraged to enact. The first approved version of the act did not meet the needs of the states and very few of them approved it. However, in late 2015, a revised act was passed. It has several important points:

It gives internet users control. It allows users to specify whether their digital assets should be preserved, distributed to heirs or destroyed.
It provides efficient uniformity for all concerned. Digital assets cross state lines. A uniform law ensures that fiduciaries (the people who are appointed to manage our property when we die or are unable to manage it ourselves) in every state will have equal access to digital assets and custodians will have a single legal standard with which to comply.
It respects privacy interests. It prevents the companies that store our communications from releasing them to fiduciaries unless the user consented to disclosure.
It works hand-in-hand with federal and state law. Fiduciaries must provide proof of their authority in the form of a certified document. Custodians of digital assets that comply with a fiduciary’s apparently authorized request for access are immune from any liability under statutes that prohibit unauthorized access. A fiduciary’s authority over digital assets is limited by federal law, including the Copyright Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

19 states are considering passing a law that encompasses at least some of what was recommended in the revised UFADAA. You should contact your representatives and urge them to enact this legislation. It will make it much easier for you to manage the digital estate of a loved one after he or she has died.

For more information about UFADAA and other issues related to your digital estate, check out our book ACCESS DENIED: WHY YOUR PASSWORDS ARE AS IMPORTANT AS YOUR WILL.