Don’t leave it to chance—digital diligence

Digital assets come in all forms but are commonly defined as any content, files or accounts that are created and stored online on computers, tablets, smartphones or in the Cloud. 

Digital assets can have little monetary value (such as personal photographs) but hold significant sentimental value for your family. Therefore, taking steps to ensure a swift, stress-free transfer of them should be considered. 

It is particularly important that your executors have some knowledge of your digital assets and the ability to access them when administering your estate. 

The death of Gerald Cotton, who was the sole password holder of an account containing £105 million of cryptocurrency, demonstrates the fragility of digital assets on death.

It’s important to review what assets you hold digitally, such as online financial accounts, betting accounts, email addresses and social media accounts. We recommend you keep a list of these assets (without login details) with your copy will and let your executors know that it exists. This could be in the form of a letter of wishes or side letter to accompany your will. This should give you peace of mind that your executors will be made aware of their existence without breaching any operating terms. 

Internet savings accounts can be dealt with by your executors after your death in a similar way to a regular bank account, your executors will be able to gain access following the issue of a Grant of Probate. 

It’s important to remember to never write down a list of online usernames and passwords for any of your online accounts or give them to family members whilst you are still alive. Not only is this a security risk, but you could unwittingly breach the terms of the operating account by doing so. Furthermore, many websites will have terms and conditions that prohibit you from passing your login details on to others. 

An executor who logs on to an account using your name and password after your death may be committing an offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. You should not instruct anyone to access your online accounts after you have died (other than through the website’s authorised method).