It’s hard enough to write a Will, deciding who should get what when you die, but you need to provide for your virtual possessions also. Digital assets  have valuesometimes sentimental, sometimes commercialjust like a piece of jewelry. There can be legal issues for your relatives when you die unless you do your digital estate planning also.

Many services and programs have sprung up to help people with their digital estate planning. Google has a program called Inactive Account Manager, that lets someone who uses Google services decide exactly how they want to deal with the data they’ve stored online with them. You let Google know who you want to be notified when they deactivate your account(s)for example six months after electronic silence. Google has ways to make sure that your electronic pulse has really gone silent. Then, a month before it pulls the plug, it sends you a text and email, just in case you are still there.

You should have a list of all your user names and passwords for all the accounts you have a digital presence and keep it updated. After you die, your executor or heir can contact Facebook and other social media sites and request the contents of your account and close the accounts.

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