Coming of age in this digital world has its luxuries, but those luxuries come with their own set of complexities. Face Book enables you to connect with friends; blogging sites (such as this one) allow you to express your ideas to the world; and... Read More
Finally. For those who have been following, the issue of “digital assets” is a fast developing problem in the estate planning world. Putting aside for a moment who has the right to “inherit” your assets, the bigger problem with... Read More
By David Shulman It looks like Google recently updated the support page in which a person can request information regarding a deceased user’s account. Now the options are: Close the Account of a deceased user Submit a request for funds... Read More
Today there is a big hole in most estate plans. Most estate plans do not deal with the property and license rights that almost all Americans have accumulated with their online lives. What online assets should be concerned with? Email Accounts... Read More
Last week [Aug. 27 - 31] there were several articles which brought light to many that our online identities are just licenses which will expire upon out death. While this concept is new to some, most lawyers understand this. Unfortunately there appear... Read More
By David Shulman As I’ve written recently , the Uniform Law Commission approved the Uniform Fidicuary Access to Digital Assets Act. The act can be found on the Committee’s website , along with supplemental material, such as prior drafts... Read More
"Digital assets" - they've been getting some press lately. Though we're neck deep in digital holdings, digitized assets are often overlooked in estate planning. They lack physicality and often monetary value, but what they do have... Read More
Estate planning is an important event in one's life. The fruits of a life time of hard work, passed down in the hopes that they will serve their next owner well. But in this modern age we live in, online digital assets are frequently left out of the... Read More
An article by Dennis Kennedy in this month's ABA Journal poses some interesting questions about our "digital estate". Keeping in mind that the "e" in email stands for "evidence" and "eternal" , it is a sure... Read More
By David Shulman The Uniform Law Commission is a non-profit organization that drafts “model” or “uniform” laws that can be adopted by state legislatures. Individual legislatures can then adopt the act as is, or can tweak it... Read More
Have you ever wondered what happens to your digital assets when you die? By digital assets I mean your email, Facebook, Twitter and other accounts. What about your iTunes music purchases? You Amazon Kindle books? Are you allowed to transfer your music... Read More
by David Shulman I’ve written before about estate planning for your digital assets and online accounts. Well this article isn’t necessarily about planning , but what happens after you die – especially if you don’t plan (or even... Read More
A recent story in the press reported that Bruce Willis was considering suing Apple, angry that he could not pass along his enormous I-Tunes account to his daughters in his will because he does not own his account, but merely has a license to access the... Read More
By Andrew S. Rusniak It is often said that the law lags behind technology. One area where this sentiment is particularly applicable is estate planning for digital assets. In a world where our lives are becoming ever more digital, many estate planning... Read More