3 digital estate questions to ask

Between online accounts, personal records and career information, what Canadians store online is worth an average of $47,000 per person, but what’s there rarely makes it into an estate plan, says lawyer Claudia Sgro.

Read: Protect clients’ digital estates

To get clients thinking about their digital estates, she suggests asking these three questions and documenting their answers.

1) What digital assets do you own? Sit down with your client and write an inventory of digital accounts, from Paypal to domain names they’ve purchased. Tell clients to update this list regularly.

2) How should your executor access these assets? List anyone who manages your client’s online presence. Also list the usual locations for physical assets like mobile phones, flash drives and laptops. Document which accounts your client wants her executor to access, and give her explicit consent in writing.

3) What do you want to happen to your digital property? Whether photos should be wiped, accounts cashed out, or items bequeathed, make sure your client lays out what should happen to each account.

Read more here.

Also read:

Privacy rules to get tougher

Are digital insurance apps good for clients?

Estate pros must consider digital assets

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.