FREE Investment Handbook - "Where Do I Start" ?

Further to an earlier blog post entitled 'Securing your digital assets' - another article , this time authored by the Drake University, takes the issue further.

What will happen to your Facebook account when you die?

What about all your photos shared on social media, your texts with loved ones, or documents on cloud-storage systems?

In just the two-year period from 2012 to 2014, humans produced more data than in all of human civilization before that – and the pace is only accelerating.

It’s not clear what people’s digital presences will look like in years to come, but it’s sure that an increasing number of people will be creating and accumulating growing reams of data until the day they die. But then what?

"Do you have a will, and is it up-to-date?" - Without a relevant will, it is difficult to plan clearly for life’s later events; and not even life’s self-confessed singletons are immune from such considerations.

It is a question we always ask, and we are surprised by the increasing regularity with which we come across a blank sheet or a will that is well past its sell-by-date.

The importance of a will

UK individuals without a valid will die intestate, which means the intestacy law will determine how and to whom the estate is distributed.

Interestingly, the assets do not always automatically go to the surviving spouse.

However if you (or somebody else) is acting as an executors you ‘stand in the shoes’ of the deceased and are charged under the Will with the responsibility of distributing the estate assets and resolving any outstanding issues.

Have you ever thought how your executors and perhaps family or friends (if they are on hand to assist) would cope with your online accounts?

• Supermarket loyalty points
• Airline loyalty entitlements
• Online music
• Online photographs
• Online videos
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Linked In
• Online banking
• Online gambling / gaming

Very costly mistakes can easily be avoided with a correctly drafted Will

Emma Myers runs her expert eye over three celebrity wills which didn't work out as originally planned...

Celebrities may seem to have it all, but they are only human and can be just as likely to make mistakes as everyone else, especially when it comes to estate planning.

However, making a mistake with estate planning can have serious repercussions for our nearest and dearest, as these examples highlight.