Seth Bier · ·
A few months ago, I was speaking with people at a local senior health fair when an older gentleman walked by our booth and said, somewhat dismissively:
“We don’t need to stop. We handled all that years ago.”
[Read more…] about “We Took Care of That Years Ago…”: 7 Reasons to Review Your Estate PlanSeth Bier · ·
In today’s digital age, our lives are increasingly lived online. We share our thoughts, photos, and experiences with friends and followers on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. But what happens to these accounts after we pass away? Do they simply disappear, or do they live on forever?
In this blog post, we’ll explore the topic of virtual afterlife and what you can do to plan for the future of your social media accounts.
While it may seem trivial to some, our social media accounts can hold a significant amount of personal information and memories. They may contain photos of loved ones, important life events, and conversations with friends and family. Losing access to these accounts can be devastating for those left behind.
In addition, our social media accounts can continue to exist long after we pass away, potentially causing confusion or even distress for those who stumble upon them. Imagine receiving notifications about job anniversaries on LinkedIn, birthday reminders on Facebook, or friend requests from a deceased loved one? Dealing with the emotional tsunami of losing a loved one is one of the most difficult things we have to do in our lives, and the last thing we need is some online algorithm adding to the grief.
The policies regarding social media accounts after death vary from platform to platform. Some platforms, such as Facebook, allow for accounts to be memorialized, which means that the account remains visible but can no longer be updated. Other platforms, such as Twitter, require a court order to access or delete the account of a deceased user.
In general, social media companies require proof of death before taking any action on an account. This may require a death certificate or other legal documentation.
To ensure that your social media accounts are handled according to your wishes after you pass away, it’s important to plan ahead. (Making sure everything you own is handled according to your wishes if you’re incapacitated or after you pass away requires planning ahead – just a reminder from your friendly neighborhood estate planning attorney!) Here are some steps you can take:
The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA – “roo-FA-dah”) is a law that addresses the issue of how to manage and access digital assets after an individual passes away or becomes incapacitated (Note: California’s RUFADAA does not provide guidance for incapacity. While it allows for RUFADAA powers to be valid in Powers of Attorney, when listing documents that may be required by service providers, it lists death certificates but not physician’s determination of incapacity).
Digital assets can include anything from social media accounts and email addresses to online banking and investment accounts. Without clear legal guidelines in place, it can be difficult for fiduciaries, such as executors, trustees, and agents, to access and manage these assets on behalf of the account holder.
Under RUFADAA, account holders can provide instructions for how they want their digital assets to be managed after they pass away or become incapacitated. Users may designate in their estate planning documents a person who is authorized to manage their digital assets in the event of their death. The law also allows for online tools provided by the service providers to be used to manage digital assets.
Fiduciaries who are granted access to digital assets under RUFADAA must follow certain guidelines. They are required to act in the best interest of the account holder and are held to the same standard of care as other fiduciaries. They must also follow any instructions or limitations that the account holder has put in place.
One of the key features of RUFADAA is that it provides a way for fiduciaries to access digital assets without violating federal privacy laws. Service providers are required to comply with the law and allow access to fiduciaries when appropriate. This helps to ensure digital assets are managed in a way that is consistent with the account holder’s wishes and protects their privacy.
Our lives are increasingly lived online, and it’s important to consider what will happen to our digital assets after we pass away. By planning ahead and taking the necessary steps to manage our social media accounts, we can ensure that our virtual afterlife is handled according to our wishes.
To learn more, or to discuss your specific estate planning options, give us a call today or contact us through our website.
Seth Bier · ·
Do you worry about what will happen to you and your family if you become incapacitated or when you pass away? Do you feel a weight on your shoulders, knowing you should probably have some kind of plan? Or do these thoughts keep you up at night — I don’t know what to do, how to do it, or even where to start?
We understand these concerns, and we can help you stop worrying once and for all.
Victoria Boxer, better known as Vee to her family and friends, is organization personified. She lives and dies by the calendar and to-do list on her phone. It’s the only way she can possibly juggle her career, her and her husband Kevin’s social life, plus the school and extra-curricular activities of her 9-, 13-, and 16-year-old kids, and do it with a genuine smile.
But lately, it’s been harder and harder for her to conjure up happy feelings.
No matter what she’s accomplished, whether it’s another successful marketing campaign at work, an uproarious yet competitive couples game night at home or making time to see 9-year-old Olivia’s soccer game, 13-year-old Bart’s band concert, and 16-year-old Erin’s Juliet in the school play, one item remains indelibly printed on her list: estate plan.
And every time she postponed its due date, the weight on her shoulders got heavier.
Vee would fall asleep the minute her head hit the pillow. Kevin was so jealous, but her quick sleep hid her real struggles from him. An hour after falling asleep she was up, tossing and turning. Her mind ran wild – what if Kevin and I die tomorrow? Who will take care of our kids? How do I make sure my brother is their guardian – he’s great with them but is horrible with money – maybe Kevin’s sister should handle the money part?
If I’m in a car accident and unconscious, who knows what to do? I wonder if I’ll be aware of what’s going on around me. I don’t want to live on machines and can hear Kevin and my brother and my kids all fighting over what to do, meanwhile I’m trapped in here… hopefully I won’t know… I’m going to stop thinking about it, it will never happen.
Can Kevin take care of the family on his own? He doesn’t know how to pay the mortgage, taxes, water… I have to sit him down and show him the websites and give him our passwords… and what if something terrible happens to Kevin? Will we have enough money? Did Erin say she has a boyfriend? Oh no, what if I die and Kevin remarries? If his new wife has kids of her own, will ours still inherit my assets?
Vee’s always been independent, and she’s put plenty of time into crossing ‘estate plan’ off her list. She’s googled it, but every time she goes down that rabbit hole, she emerges more confused than when she started. This attorney’s site says one thing, another says something else, and none of them she called are willing to give her even 10 minutes to see if they can help, let alone give her some idea of what it will cost.
She’s looked into doing it herself online. There are plenty of sites, but how will she know if what she ends up with will actually work? If she waits until something happens to her, it will be too late.
So she searches the net, she reads, she makes calls, but when she’s done, she just postpones her due date knowing that annoying ‘estate plan’ is still on her list.
Kevin knows something’s wrong. Vee no longer comes home excited about a new project at work. They haven’t had a date night or seen their friends in months. They are still going to all of their kids’ events, but Vee’s not cheering them on or mouthing their lines along with them. She’s there, but barely there, half awake, mustering up a smile when she has to.
Late one night, on one of his return walks from the bathroom (which are occurring more and more, much to his dismay), he sees Vee is awake. He finally asks if something is bothering her.
She tells him that she’s worried. She worried about the kids, concerned that anything can happen at any time, and they aren’t prepared. She doesn’t want her family to have to go through the nightmare their friends Rob and Trina went through when Trina’s mom passed. She tells him she’s tried to find answers, but she can’t get any help. She’s in a panic and Kevin hugs her and stops her anxious outburst. He tells her they are fine, they are healthy, the kids are healthy, and that they have plenty of time to deal with all of that. He kisses her, smiles, and tells her to try to get some sleep.
Victoria and Kevin’s story doesn’t end in a Shakespearian tragedy, but it isn’t a happy ending, either. Turns out, they never made time to ‘deal with all of that.’ When incapacity and death came, the Boxers were not prepared. The once supremely organized family was spun into a chaotic, expensive storm that left the grieving, stunned survivors all alone, faced with picking up the scattered pieces of a well-intentioned plan that never was.
I don’t want to make light of procrastination because it can be part of a never-ending, destructive cycle of anxiety and self-doubt that can crush one’s mental health. (It can also be a symptom of a mental illness that should be addressed by a psychiatrist.) Also known as paralysis by analysis, it can cause intelligent, successful people to avoid doing things in their best interest. With our comprehensive, compassionate, education-first approach to estate planning, we can help you break through your barriers and stop worrying about the ‘what ifs.’
Seth Bier · ·
Chadwick Boseman played many heroic American roles and the superhero role of the Black Panther. His death at age 43 demonstrated how it’s important to have at least a basic estate plan in place even if you’re young. Read on to learn more.
Seth Bier · ·
Generational wealth is wealth earned by one generation and passed on to the next. Generational wealth is key to allowing the next generation to be free from the burden of having to live hand-to-mouth and allows them to pursue an education and build a career or business to build a better life for themselves. Read on to learn more.
