Digital Estate Planning: How to Protect Your Legacy
Difficult question: What will happen to your digital property after you’re gone?
While it’s not easy to think about, you should have an answer prepared. The future is coming, whether we like it or not. That’s why, regardless of your age or life situation, digital estate planning should be one of your highest priorities. Of course, you can’t afford to ignore estate planning as a whole, but the increasingly prominent role of technology in everyday life means you’ll need to consider the future of your digital assets specifically.
Diving into estate planning can be emotionally intimidating, not to mention complex. But it doesn’t have to be. The truth is, digital estate planning is not about frantically imagining the worst-case scenario. It’s about ensuring peace of mind for yourself and your loved ones.
That’s why we wrote this quick guide: to help you create a plan for your digital property so that your family knows exactly what to do with your assets in an emergency.
What is Digital Estate Planning?
First, it’s helpful to know that there are two different types of digital estate planning. The first type refers to estate planning that involves electronic assets which might include:
- Email addresses
- Online banking accounts
- Social media profiles
- Marketplace accounts
- Online subscriptions
- Photos saved on the cloud/online
- Networking accounts
- Smartphone/tablet apps
- Digital dating/gaming accounts
- Loyalty program memberships
- Digitally-stored personal information
- Crypto, NFT, and bitcoin accounts
The second type of digital estate planning focuses on the methods used in the estate planning process. Incorporating digital services, like those offered by The Postage, into your estate planning strategy helps you and your family save both time and money while avoiding lengthy meetings and complicated paperwork.
Benefits of Digital Estate Planning
When you start using a specialized online portal and other digital tools as part of your estate planning efforts, you can count on a multitude of benefits. For example:
- Secure storage. Before the digital revolution, important documents tied to people’s estate plans had to be stored in physical vaults, safes, or safe deposit boxes. In contrast, cloud storage protects these documents from natural disasters, theft, and other threats.
- Simple access to essential documents. No matter where you are, there might be a time when referring to critical records is a priority. Online portals allow you to do so as quickly and easily as possible, all without having to track down the original copy.
- High levels of privacy. It’s understandable to be concerned about security when dealing with digital record storage. Luckily, today’s market-leading digital vault solutions include security features such as password encryption, US-based data hosting, and 256-bit SSL technology.
- Easy updates to assets. Do you need to make changes to any of your estate plan-related documents? With online digital estate planning services, you can do so in minutes.
- Peace of mind. No matter how well you protect your real-world estate planning documents, keeping them secure is a big responsibility. Digital estate planning means you can put these important documents in the hands of trusted professionals.
How to Start Your Digital Estate Plan
The first steps to take on your digital estate planning journey depend on the specific services you’re looking for and the services you use. To provide just one example of what to expect, here’s what you’d need to do in order to create a will with The Postage:
- Pick the right plan for your situation. Ideally, your service provider should offer a variety of plans—including a will-based estate plan, which you’d choose in this scenario.
- Write your will. This can be a time-consuming process, but that’s not always the case. With the right online portal, you can get started with setting up a will in minutes.
- Include thoughtful messages and memories. Along with the will itself, the best estate plan includes the option of adding meaningful life memories for a personal touch.
- Share your finished plan. To complete the will creation process, share your newly-created will with your closest family members and the professionals you trust.
Finding the Right Partner
Digital estate planning has revolutionized the end-of-life planning field. To guarantee convenience, security, and privacy while respecting the emotionally charged nature of estate planning, take the time to find a digital estate planning service that becomes a partner who is just as dedicated to your family’s well being as you are.
When you choose The Postage, you’ll find it easier than ever to manage your legacy plan, final wishes, estate-related documents, and personal messages to your loved ones. Whether you’re hoping to get your own estate plan in order or trying to protect your family members, The Postage will help you plan for your future as efficiently as possible. Take the first step towards building your estate plan today!
