When cruising the web, we came across a video that very simply tells you the basics of what to do about your digital assets. Many people have what they think are comprehensive plans for their estate. However, they’ve forgotten about this very critical segment. Check out the video and then start planning….before it’s too late.
For more information about estate planning, go to diesmart.com.
If you’re like most people, you have some kind of debt – a mortgage, a credit card bill, school or a car loan. What happens when you die? Do your heirs have to pay your bills for you?
According to a recent U.S. News and World Report article, the general rule of thumb is that if there’s enough money in your estate, your bills will be paid out of the assets you’ve left. Those assets will be liquidated to generate the necessary funds.
If there’s not enough money in your estate, here’s what will probably happen. I say “probably” because there are no firm rules in this area and each case is different.
Credit card:
As long as you don’t have a co-signer on your credit card, the odds are that the debt will be discharged by the credit card company. If you have a co-signer, that person will be responsible and will have to pay whatever is owed.
Mortgage:
If the house isn’t paid off, the bank may decide to foreclose…unless someone takes over the monthly payments.
Car:
If you are making car payments when you die, your vehicle can be repossessed by the bank. However, if one of your family members is willing to take over the loan, there should be no problem.
There are a few caveats that you should be aware of.
If you owe a lot of money and make deathbed gifts, your creditors may be able to convince the court to return those gifts to the estate so that their bills can be paid.
Your children or spouse should be careful about cosigning financial agreements for you. This personal financial guarantee may obligate them to repay any money owed through these agreements after you die.
If you don’t want your loved ones “haunted by debt collectors” after you’re gone, make sure they’re careful about what they sign.
For more information about how to manage your estate and what happens when you die, go to www.diesmart.com.
There’s been a
lot of discussion about digital assets and what happens to your bitcoin accounts when you die. When we checked a while ago, we were told that after a certain period of inactivity, your Bitcoin account will disappear and the money you have in it will be gone forever. If you haven’t given your login, password and digital key information to the person(s) you’d like to inherit the money, they cannot access your Bitcoin wallet and they’re out of luck.
Recently, a few companies have tried to address this important issue. One we came across is Bitcoin Estate Plan. Their premise is simple. They automatically deliver bitcoin wallet access instructions to your heirs upon your death or incapacitation. This is accomplished through email, phone and/or a written letter via the postal service. You tell them who you want them to contact and the message you want them to send.
The company “will then email or phone you periodically to confirm that you are still alive. If you do not respond after a specified number of attempts the system will deliver your message to your intended recipient(s) by email, snail mail or phone depending upon which service plan you choose.”
It would be cheaper for you to share the necessary information with your heirs prior to your death. However, if you do, they will have the ability to access your funds at any time. A better option to consider might be a company like Bitcoin Estate Plan. That way, your money won’t disappear when you do.
For more information about digital assets and how to protect them, read our book “Access Denied: Your Digital Estate – Why Passwords Are Now as Important as Passwords”. It’s available at Amazon. Also, check out our website www.diesmart.com.
Last week, I wrote about glass art that can be fused with ashes from a deceased loved one. This week, I came across something even more bizarre.
Chronicle Cremation Designs has launched a range of custom ceramic dinnerware glazed with the cremated ashes of dead loved ones. Here’s what it says on their website.
Justin Crowe, based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, mixes cremated human ashes into a glaze which he uses to coat bowls, vases, candle holders, coffee cups, urns and other ceramic items. Once they’ve been fired in a kiln, the glaze becomes food- and drink-safe, which means you could perhaps drink a coffee with an aura of grandma, or use something of old uncle Bernard to serve roast potatoes.
The idea developed out of an art project in which Crowe used the mixed ashes of more than 200 people to create a dinnerware collection called Nourish, and then used it to serve food at a party.
“I wanted to create a dinnerware set that infuses a sense of mortality into everyday life,” he said, explaining that he bought human remains from bone dealers (who typically sell to medical professionals, students and oddity collectors) and then turned them into ash in the kiln before grinding them up with a mortar and pestle. He then mixed the powder into a glaze.
Now, you can send in about a cup of ashes from the remains of your loved one and have it made into an item that you can use every day.
This is definitely something for everyone, but….
For more cremation and funeral ideas, go to our site diesmart.com.
Jackie & Warren Hillman
When you buy a life insurance policy, you name a beneficiary who will inherit the proceeds when you die. It’s important to keep that beneficiary designation up to date or the wrong person may benefit.
One such case that went all the way to the Supreme Court was that of Warren Hillman. Hillman died in 2008 shortly after he was diagnosed with leukemia. He was 66. He had been married three times. When he died, his assets included a life insurance policy worth $124,558.03.
But Hillman made an all too common estate planning error. In 1996, while he was working for the federal government, he took out a life insurance policy and named his second wife, Judy Maretta, as his beneficiary. When he and Maretta divorced in 1998, he didn’t change the beneficiary designation on his policy. It was a policy that was part of a life insurance program for all federal employees and the law for that program says that the proceeds on death are paid according to the beneficiary designation.
He married Jacqueline Hillman in 2002 and was with her until he died.
Since his death, his second ex-wife, Judy Maretta, and his widow had been fighting over that money. In June, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court found that Maretta was entitled to all of it because she was still listed as the beneficiary.
If your life circumstances change, be sure to update the beneficiary forms for any policies that you have. Otherwise, your ex-spouse may get your life insurance proceeds.
For further information about beneficiaries, go to www.diesmart.com.