ESTATE PLANNING IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Back in the day people had all of their important papers stashed in a lock box somewhere. It was simply a matter of letting family members know where the key was located should they need to access them.
Of course many of us still do have hard copies of important documents and it is important to share their location with selected family members when you are planning your estate.
However, now that we live in the digital age there is another level of sharing that must be considered. Many people conduct business online these days, and you may well have bank accounts and brokerage accounts that you manage over the Internet.
As a result, you are going to want to include instructions regarding how you would like this information handled when you are executing your estate planning documents.
There is also the matter of social networks, blogs, and websites. If you have social network accounts on sites such as Facebook or Twitter you are probably going to want to let someone know how you want them to be managed going forward.
Facebook will "memorialize" the accounts of people who pass away if they are notified by a family member of a deceased Facebook account holder. This involves keeping personal information private and not suggesting the memorialized individual as a friend.
There are definitely some things to think about when you are planning your estate in the digital age. The best way to proceed is to sit down and discuss all the details with a licensed and experienced San Bernardino estate planning lawyer.