Most people probably spend more time on Facebook than they’d like to admit — but what happens to your Facebook page when you die?

New Hampshire is one of the several states trying to figure that out. State Rep. Peter Sullivan introduced legislation to allow the executor of an estate control over the social networking pages of the dead. The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted last week to give Sullivan more time to write an amendment that begins a study of the issue.

(Related: Technology Companies and the Deceased)

Sullivan, a Democrat from Manchester, per the proposed bill, would allow control of someone’s Facebook, Twitter, and even Gmail to be passed to the executor of their estate after death. He believes that if if this bill passed, it would bridge a gap in policies of social media sites regarding posthumous users.

“This would give the families a sense of closure, a sense of peace. It would help prevent this form of bullying that continues even after someone dies and nobody is really harmed by it,” Sullivan said.

(Related: Ethical Wills and Leaving a Legacy Worth More Than Money)

Five other states, including Oklahoma, Idaho, Rhode Island, Indiana and Connecticut, have established legislation to regulate an individual’s digital presence post mortem.

Opponents of Sullivan’s bill hold that contracts and provisions between the social media user and the site already lay out what happens to the page once the user passes. Also, they believe the bill is unenforceable and incomplete, while others contend the issue would be better covered under federal law.

In 2010, a similar bill was sponsored by Oklahoma state legislator, Ryan Kiesel, called the Digital Property Management After Death Law. While Kisel supports state’s efforts to bring clarity to this issue, he is one of the believers that it is a case that should be eventually taken up by the federal government.

“Facebook and other online providers have changed their privacy policies to keep up with the times, but we still see a lot of flux within different sites like Facebook , Flickr, or Google, for example.” Keisel told ABC News. “The federal government should pass uniform laws to govern all digital assets because it is quite difficult for an estate to have to navigate endless numbers of digital policies postmortem.”

Now a civil rights activist, Kisel compared a digital legacy to the distribution of tangible assets after death.

(Related: Managing Digital Assets with Online Services)

“In Oklahoma, if you are administrator of the estate of a deceased person’s house and you find a box under their bed, you are well within your right to see what’s inside that box and if property is worth distributing, you should distribute it accordingly.” Kiesel told ABC News that the same idea goes for digital legacy.

Facebook recently celebrated the ninth Anniversary of its launch, and currently has over 1 billion active users. That number, up from just a million users in 2004, hints that the is likely an enormous number of Facebook pages that are currently occupied by the deceased.

As is, Facebook has created a memorial function allowing Facebook pages to become memorials after they have died.

“Please use this form to request the memorialization of a deceased person’s account,” the site reads. “We extend our condolences and appreciate your patience and understanding throughout this process.”

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-death-172350356.html

Marc H. Wander is a partner of the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke, Berry, Carter &Wander, PLLC. Marc has been licensed to practice law in Michigan since 1992. Marc’s practice is devoted to estate planning and business succession planning.  Marc is a member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan and is a prior Chairperson of the Oakland County Bar Association Tax Committee. He is a frequent continuing education speaker to insurance agents, financial advisors, CPA’s and financial industry organizations. He has also been heard on WJR Radio. Follow Marc on Twitter @MarcWander

The sanctity of marriage has long been changing. Your understanding of marriage may be far from your parent’s understanding of the sacrament. An American’s, drastically different than a Nigerian’s. For this conversation, let’s borrow the Collins Paperback English Dictionary definition of “marriage” as “the contract made by a man and a woman to live as husband and wife.”

A marriage contract is designed to bind a man and a woman together and strengthen their relationship for life. But with the prevalence of divorce, does marriage still bind couples together these days? What does marriage still mean to us?

(Related: Women and Estate Planning: Part 1)

Picking a spouse is one of the most significant decisions you will make in your life, so choose wisely and carefully. It is more important than acquiring assets or having a family and it can directly impact your estate planning efforts.

In today’s world, marriage has become a vehicle to realize ambitions: a ladder to climb to a higher social class, attain wealth, and have assured elder care when one reaches advanced age. Nothing is wrong with these notions, so long as they are added benefits and not the reason for entering a contract of marriage.

It is not surprise that money is the underlying reason for all of these developments. Issues stemming from money provide security in a marriage, who asserts power and who controls the marriage purse. When considering your estate planning activities in marriage, please remember that the heart of estate planning is creating a plan that will provide for your future, your family’s future, and where applicable, the causes you believe in.

(Related: The New Age Of Estate Planning)

Generally, when two people marry, their first obligation is to one another. If, however, your fate is met with a different outcome, you need to reevaluate your priorities and adjust your planning to reflect your reality.

Consider this:

• A significant percentage of young men ensure that they marry only girls with income-earning abilities; the age-old notion of wives as “ ori-aku” or “odozi-aku” has evaporated in our clime; wives must now be “ okpata- aku” to be deemed sustainable.

• There are fewer marriages between couples of different social classes than previously witnessed; a lot of parents in higher social classes will not have it any other way;

• The traditional perception of divorce as being “out-of-the-question” is fast eroding; resort to divorce has taken over mediations and conciliations;

• The concept of “ marriage frauds” has entered crime lexicons on account of the institution now taken as a bridge to favoured citizenships of countries that could guarantee better economic status;

• Age-defying marriage contracts are no longer restricted as only a man’s right to choose; older women with better economic status now routinely get married to younger grooms;

• Indeed, it is no longer ‘a forbidden act’ for a girl to bear all or most of the marriage expenses, including the new home, the family car and the hospital bills of the first born child; it is becoming a ‘ way of life’, if the girl is stoic enough to capture her “ jewel of inestimable value’.

(Related: Technology Companies and the Deceased)

Gone Traditions

• We need to begin to accept, even if we cannot understand, the evolving values and life standards that rule the world of today with serious impact on the institution of marriage:

• The fast erosion of our traditional approach and expectations in marriage;

• Cross-cultural marriages and assimilation of varied life practices;

• The impact of international exposure and contemporary education on the value systems of children, neighbours and peers and how they resonate in marriages;

• The impact of poverty and economic slavery on people’s decisions to marry.

• There are more blended families than ever before, what with the increased rates of second, third marriages and openness to adopting children.

Previously preposterous ideas about marriage have penetrated our societal norms, many of of which have been adopted from foreign lands with others evolving as a consequence of our changing lifestyles. It would be irresponsible to not learn and adopt estate planning strategies that acknowledge these new living standards.

If your estate plan no longer aligns with the reality of your marriage, contact Michigan estate planning attorney , today.

Read more: http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/personal-finance/50095-marriage-and-estate-planning-how-it-affects-you

Mr. Witzke practices in the areas of estate and gift tax planning, financial planning, retirement planning, LGBT civil rights, charitable giving, elder law, and small business planning. He focuses on helping clients grow, protect, and transfer wealth efficiently. Mr. Witzke is a past president and board member of the Financial Planning Association of Michigan, a member of the board of directors for Leadership Oakland, and a member of the planned giving advisory committees of Wayne State University and the Community House in Birmingham. Follow Mr. Witzke on Twitter @gr8estatelawyer.