As you are engaging in your estate planning efforts one of the first things you have to do is inventory your assets. In addition to cash and securities you may also have real property, and you will certainly have some personal property. These things are all tangible, but what about property that you have in cyberspace?
You have to consider any online presences that you may have and make sure that your executor or trustee has access to them and instructions with regard to how you would like them handled after you pass away.
If you have a website that you have utilized as part of your business or as a business in its own right you are going to have to record all the details that are relevant and include this information with your estate planning documents.
Websites that have a long history on the Internet have value even if you are not actively making money with your site so this is something to take into consideration. You don’t want to just have your representatives take down the site and lose a cultivated URL that may have value in the open market.
Even if you don’t have your own website you may have identities in cyberspace via your social networking accounts. Rather than simply having your executor or trustee take it down you could have your Facebook page memorialized so it remains accessible to your family and friends.
If you have other social network identities such as a LinkedIn profile and a Twitter account you should let your representatives know about them and provide instructions with regard to how you would like your accounts handled after your passing.
This is just a little food for thought to keep in mind if you are creating a checklist in an effort to make sure that you have attended to all of the details that are relevant to your estate plan.
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