When clients think about estate planning, they usually focus on property, savings and personal possessions. Increasingly, however, a significant part of an individual's wealth and personal legacy exists online.

Digital assets can include cryptocurrency, online investment accounts, PayPal balances, websites, domain names, cloud storage, social media accounts and even loyalty points. As our lives become more digital, these assets are becoming a more common feature of estate administration. 

The challenge is that digital assets are often much harder to locate and access than traditional assets. Whilst family members may know where a deceased person banked or owned property, they may have no knowledge of online accounts, digital wallets or cryptocurrency holdings.

Cryptocurrency presents a particular risk. Access is often dependent on private keys or recovery phrases known only to the owner. If that information cannot be found, valuable assets may be inaccessible, regardless of their value. Executors are therefore increasingly dealing with estates that contain assets which are difficult to trace, value and recover. 

For this reason, it is important to consider digital assets as part of your wider estate planning.

A well drafted will can help ensure executors are aware that digital assets exist and understand where relevant information can be found. However sensitive information such as passwords and private keys should not be included within the will itself, as a will becomes a public document following the issue of a Grant of Probate.

Instead, clients should consider maintaining a separate and secure record of:

• Digital assets and online accounts
• Cryptocurrency holdings
• Digital investment platforms
• Instructions regarding social media accounts
• The location of important digital documents

As digital wealth continues to grow, estate planning can no longer be limited to physical assets alone. A Will that adequately deals with a house and bank accounts may still leave executors facing significant difficulties if a client's digital life has been overlooked.

If your assets exist online, your estate planning should too. Taking steps now could save your executors considerable time, cost and frustration in the future. Please get in touch for more information.