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Finding a Deceased Loved One’s Digital Assets

May 3, 2012

Filed under: Estate Administration,Estate Planning — Tags: , , , — Christopher J. Berry @ 2:41 pm

Society with the increased used of the internet and the idea of “going paperless” is relying less and less on the real world and hard copies and putting more trust into the digital, virtual world or even the cloud.  When a loved one passes away and you are a trustee or personal representative trying to gather assets, this can present some interesting problems and quirks.  As Michigan estate planning and probate lawyers, I wanted to share some tips with you.

Know What to Find

Digital assets can include things like internet accounts, data, contractual and ineffectual property in the digital world.  You should be looking for things like email accounts, bank statements, investment accounts, credit cards, bill paying accounts, Facebook, Twitter, online gaming, online gambling, e-books, and retail.  Additionally, check for cloud based documents such as Dropbox, Google, Box.net, or SugarSync.

Get Your Google On

Do a Google search for the loved one’s name.  This may help reveal different accounts, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or other social networking or internet sites.  It’s amazing what you can find sometimes from a simple Google search.

Get Access to An E-Mail Account Quickly

Most people keep a spreadsheet on their computer of passwords or pass codes.  See if you can find a list stored on their computer.  If you can’t, take a stab at guessing some passwords, worse case, bring in an IT professional.

Get Access to E-Mail The Slow Way

If you are unable to access your loved one’s e-mail account, the slower option is to access it by contracting the e-mail provider.  Generally, sending a scanned copy of the death certificate along with letters of authority to the e-mail host will grant access to the account.

Do Not Close the E-Mail Account Immediately

Similar to keeping the “snail” mail coming to check on bills and accounts, it is important not to immediately shut down your loved one’s e-mail address.  This can be an easy way to find out about any bills, accounts, etc that your loved one had as the monthly emails come in to the account.

Close Your Loved One’s Other Accounts

It is important to close out the other accounts of your loved one, including Netflix, Pandora, iTunes, and especially anything that has a monthly fee associated with it.  However, be careful with certain digital assets because you need to know the value.  For example, some World of Warcraft accounts could be worth thousands of dollars and should consider being inventoried and then possibly sold.

Put Your Loved One’s Digital House in Order

Hopefully your loved one planned properly for their digital assets, for example a master document with all the relevant accounts and passwords could be stored with one’s estate planning documents.  This must be kept safe just like any other assets.

Special thanks to ICLE and Attorney Michele C. Marquardt.

 

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