August 2009 Creating an "Online Estate Plan"After we die, all of our "stuff" is supposed to go to the people we want. If we establish proper estate planning, our loved ones will receive our assets and personal belongings. But what about all the stuff we built and stored online? Will it float around the Internet, out of the reach of our loved ones because they don't know our passwords and other log-in credentials? Our Online LivesWe place more and more of our personal lives online. We sign up for e-bills and manage bank accounts online to eliminate paper waste. We store e-mails and e-cards from friends because almost nobody writes actual letters anymore. We even share photo galleries hosted on sites like Flickr instead of using old-fashioned print albums. Digital photos and emails often have little or no monetary value, but their sentimental value can be worth gold. For example, if you posted an online photo journal of your mission trip to Cambodia or blogged about your personal battle against cancer, your loved ones will likely want to maintain your online legacy after you die. Sharing Your Digital KeysWhen you create a will or a trust, you put together a list of accounts, assets and important papers. That's good coverage – to an extent. But if you fail to include passwords and other log-in information for financial accounts, personal profiles and blogs, you're creating a problem down the road. Without these digital keys, your trustee or personal representative may have to get a court order to gain access to an account. Then, they must convince the company running the website to heed to their authority. Sharing passwords can be tricky. You want to protect your private information while you're alive, but you want it to be accessible to the right people after you die. The process can be further complicated if you become incapacitated. If there is no power of attorney in place, a guardian or conservator must be appointed to gain access to your accounts, and that can be expensive. One solution is to give all current log-in information to a lawyer or a loved one. Obviously, it is important to update this list each time passwords or account numbers change. Another option is to store the list in a safety deposit box or fire-proof safe. Of course, someone other than you will need the keys to these containers. On-Line ResourcesSites like PrivateMatters.com and LegacyLocker.com can store log-in and password information for a user's online accounts, and they can make arrangements to send the information to the appropriate people upon the user's death. They also let a user write and store letters to send to loved ones. MyPersonalWishes.com is another useful online storehouse. Account holders are issued cards with a log-in to access their medical and prescription information, as well as names of primary physicians and insurance providers. In addition, it stores copies of a user's Living Will, health care power of attorney, authorizations for release of medical information (HIPPA), and organ donation provisions. Please note that the on-line resources mentioned above are offered for information purposes only. Hoopes & Adams, PLC, does not endorse the use of these resources and cannot attest to their reliability.
Adapted from the Daily Plan-It newsletter Hoopes, Adams & Alexander, PLC, is a Chandler, Arizona, law firm offering services to Phoenix-area clients in the areas of estate planning, entity formation, commercial and real estate transactions, and civil litigation. | 
