Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

Today there is a big hole in most estate plans. Most estate plans do not deal with the property and licence rights that almost all Americans have accumulated with their online lives.

What online assets should be concerned with?

• Email Accounts - Gmail, Yahoo, MSN, Comcast, AOL ...
• Social Networking Sites - Facebook, Linked In, Google +, Twitter, MySpace ...
• Online Storage Accounts, iCloud, Carbonite, Drop Box, mac.com ...
• Financial Accounts - Bank accounts, Stock Accounts, Home Loans, Student Loans ...
• Photo Storage Accounts - Kodak, Flicker
• Personal or Company Websites and Blogs
• Online Businesses Accounts - Amazon, Walmart.com, Go Daddy.com, other online merchants.
• Auction Sites - Ebay
• Music and Application Accounts - iTunes, Amazon, Android ...
• Virtual Property - Second life, World of Warcraft, other role-playing identities
• Payment services - PayPal

Some of the major issues in dealing with Digital Assets we must first determine if we are dealing with a license or a property right. By definition, most licenses expire upon death so the right to asset does not exist when you die. Next you must determine how you will deal with these assets upon your death or prior to your death to preserve access, right of use, limit risks to users for damaging the estate for improper use, and transfer the assets. There are attempts to deal with these issues with software alone, a will, a trust, software and a will, and software with a trust.

One of the problems in dealing with these issues with software alone is that their may be no legal right for the person to access the items and the software may be in conflict with other legal documents like a will or trust.

The next major problem occurs with a legal document only. These can be broken down into two areas. First, the legal document may have no effect on an asset. IE a Will cannot generally transfer a license as it does not exist upon death. Next, the individual is unlikely to keep the legal documents up to date with instructions on how to access the account. In addition, the individuals are unlikely to update passwords as they change. The trend is to require monthly updates to the more secure sites.

What seems to be the best solution: A DAP Trust with integrated software that allows you to update and create beneficiary designations within the trust on the Fly.

If you have a Florida Estate Plan that does not address your digital life or would like to create a DAP Trust for your Digital Assets, Contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer who is familiar with Digital Asset Protection.

A new law in Oklahoma appears to let estate executors have the power to access, administer, or terminate online social media accounts of the deceased. This law is in direct contradiction to the licensing arrangements of most online accounts and it has yet to be seen how and if the law will provide rights to estates.

The law should remind the people as they go about their estate planning that, in addition to their personal and real property, they should make plans for the vast amount of intellectual property they will leave behind.

As digital photo accounts, iTunes accounts, cell phone applications, and email accounts replace their traditional counterparts with many people, it is becoming more important than ever to address these assets in every estate plan.

If you would like to know more about a Digital Asset Protection Trust contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to discuss your circumstances and options.

Estate planning for Digital Assets is a topic that was covered in a two part article by Oregon Estate Planning Attorney on his Wealth Law blog. In the second part of his article Estate Planning and "Virtual Assets" - Part 2 Michael discusses the importance of determining who should receive your virtual assets and cautions readers in the use of commercial services to hold your virtual assets because of the risk of loss associated with the improper storage or release of the assets to others.

While these are valid points, a bigger concern in my mind is that most of these commercial services appear to violate the the terms of the licenses by allowing others to use your accounts after your death and potentially create liability to your estate. The Digital Asset Protection Trust is the only solution that appears to resolve the legal issues and deal with digital assets correctly. To create a Digital Asset Protection Trust contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to discuss your circumstances.

Everyday there is becoming an increasing need for Digital Asset protection as more and more digital assets are created. In Estate Planning and "Virtual Assets" - Part 1, a recent article written by Washington attorney Michael Walker, he discusses digital assets and recommends doing two things to protect your digital afterlife. First, he recommends integrating digital assets, or "virtual" assets, into your estate plan. By choosing a trustworthy representative for your estate, he suggests this will properly integrate the assets into the estate. Next, Walker proposes creating a virtual asset instruction letter (or VAIL) that will list all of your online accounts and assets. Included in this list will be the web addresses, user names, and passwords to give your designated representative access these accounts.

While it is important to include these assets in an estate plan, simply choosing a dependable and trustworthy representative may not be enough to secure your digital assets after you are gone. Even with a VAIL list, digital assets may be lost if the username/password is changed. Additionally, a VAIL does not resolve the problem that digital assets are expiring licenses. The best solution to this problem is to create a Digital Asset Protection Trust that will form the accounts in the name of a trust so that when you die, the entity that owns the license is still in existence. For more information on protecting Digital Assets, consult your Florida Digital Asset Trust Lawyer for guidance before your digital death day.

While video games have become increasingly realistic over the last few years, they still cannot compete with the virtual world reality of computer based Internet services. To some, SecondLife.com may seem like a game, but to others it really is a "second life." Second Life is a website that allows users to interact with each other by downloading a software program. Each user creates an avatar that can resemble himself, a celebrity, or anyone they can imagine. All users interact, socialize, and even conduct business with each other in the same world known as "the grid."

One of the unique abilities built into the software is a modeling tool that allows the user to build virtual objects in the virtual world. The terms of service guarantee that the users will retain all copyrights to the substances they design and create. With their digital rights management, the virtual community of Second Life generated approximately $55 million of real money last year. By having such a unique way to create an asset, the user must choose a unique way to protect it for heirs.

I would suggest a Digital Asset Trust because Second Life will only transfer an account when there is a relevant legal documentation. By setting the account up in the name of a trust, licenses and use restrictions will no longer apply to transfer of property to another. If you would like assistance in protecting your Second Life account and property, contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer today.

In today's society, intellectual property rights are rapidly increasing for those individuals that are business savvy and artistically or scientifically talented. Intellectual property rights (aka intangible assets) include patents, copyrights, trademarks, and publicity rights. In most instances, intangible assets are obtained as a direct result of someone's job, profession, or trade. With the vast expansion of the Internet, many new intangible assets have been acquired in the last 10 - 15 years. Therefore, the issues involved with these assets are continually evolving and the governing law is struggling to keep up.

The rules governing these intangible assets and the way they are treated when passed through an estate is anything but clear. There are a few key issues that should be addressed when intellectual property is incorporated into an estate. First, valuing the asset always poses a challenge, especially when the formula involves reducing the future earnings to present value. How to address current and future income from the asset is another key issue. Next, some intangible assets have a specific life for which the owner has exclusive rights. According to federal law, copyrights last for the life of the author plus 70 years. On the other hand, patent rights are divided into two categories with design patents receiving 14 years and utility patents receiving 20 years.

Furthermore, intellectual property creates a unique concern with the return of the Federal Estate Tax in 2011 and the looming effect on everyone with a slightly more than modest estate. For example, the executor of a best-selling author's estate may be forced to sell the future publication rights of a book in order to cover estate taxes. The author may be uncomfortable with the thought that his unfinished work could be published once he is gone. Enhancing your estate with a life insurance trust can guard against these estate tax concerns.

Many complicated matters of estate planning revolve around intangible assets. To address the concerns herein, contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer today to make sure the distribution of your assets is done according to your final wishes and determine if a Digital Asset Protection Trust is something you should be considering.

Digital Death Day is the idea that when we die physically, we may want to decide what happens to our digital profiles and accounts, whether that entails deleting or claiming the information. In the physical world individuals tend to leave paper trials so that their heirs may find important documents, but in the digital world the paper trial vanishes. Whether assets are economically or sentimentally valuable assets, they may be lost when we die.

Recently, a conference was held in California which discussed some of the issues involved with digital assets and what becomes of them when we die. Participants included attorneys, funeral directors, hospice services, obituary columnists and memorial services. In addition, representatives from many digital asset services offering digital afterlife management. The problem with many of these is that although they provide a way to pass on account information, they do not provide a legal means to access them or use the assets which could create liability for the violations of the licensing agreement as well as to others in the estate.

As the digital environment grows and the area of law develops, many people will seek to ensure that their legacy remains after they are gone. In the future individuals who use a computer to store information should utilize a Digital Asset Protection Trustfor all their digital assets to pass to their heirs. Consult your Digital Asset Protection Trust Lawyer for guidance on how to protect and distribute your digital assets before your digital death day.

We have started reviewing digital assets for whether they are assignable and when they will be deactivated.

There are services that purport to pass on login information to who you designate after you die. Remember that such a transfer does not appear to be legal and may create liability to the beneficiaries of your estate if damage is done to them or information is obtained by and used by others. The best way to address this issue is to create a Digital Asset Trust and have the trust own the assets, that way there is no transfer upon your death only a change in management- the trustee.

Below is our first summary of some of the major services. A Digital Asset Trust can prevent the loss of valuable Digital Assets upon your death.

Digital Death Day is the idea that when we die physically, we may want to decide what happens to our digital profiles and accounts, whether that entails deleting or claiming the information. In the physical world individuals tend to leave paper trials so that their heirs may find important documents, but in the digital world the paper trial vanishes. Whether assets are economically or sentimentally valuable assets, they may be lost when we die.

Recently, a conference was held in California which discussed some of the issues involved with digital assets and what becomes of them when we die. Participants included attorneys, funeral directors, hospice services, obituary columnists and memorial services. In addition, representatives from many digital asset services offering digital afterlife management attended including Entrustet, Legacy Locker, online-legacy.com, digitaldeath.eu, and digitalestateplanning.com.

As the digital environment grows and the area of law develops, many people will seek to ensure that their legacy remains after they are gone. In the future individuals who use a computer to store information should utilize a Digital Asset Protection Trust for all their digital assets to pass to their heirs. Consult your Florida Digital Estate Planning Lawyer for guidance on how to protect and distribute your digital assets before your digital death day.