If you fail to think about how digital assets could be incorporated into your estate plan, it’s critical to sit down with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney to discuss the many different digital assets you might own.
While some of these can include social media accounts and access to photos stored in the cloud, one common digital asset that is often overlooked is bitcoin or other forms of digital currency. Digital currencies and crypto currencies are a reflection of the time that we live in which many traditional assets including those with a monetary basis are moving entirely online. In June 2019, it’s estimated that over $335 billion in assets around the world is in crypto currency.
Digital account ownership is currently defined under the revised uniform fiduciary access to digital asset act. It is important to be familiar with this act and to update any power of attorney documents, trusts, and wills in accordance with it, such that your fiduciaries have access to your digital assets if you are unable to do so.
Most states have passed the RUFADAA since 2017; outlining the fiduciary digital access rights in the event of the owner’s incapacity or death. Online management systems are at the top of the hierarchy beyond any other form of instruction about your account, so it is critical to understand how where your digital currency is stored could impact your other estate planning documents. To get pertinent questions answered about this process, sit down with an experienced and knowledgeable asset protection planning or estate planning lawyer in Pasadena.
