Technology is king in this day and age. This also means your finances and estate are likely tied into technology. You might not have considered this when you started thinking about estate planning.
However, electronic financials and files are now a key part of estate planning. There are many elements of your electronic footprint you will need to think about and include while planning for the future of your family.
What to include
If your finances reside primarily online, an old-fashioned estate plan may not work as well. You must put your electronic passwords, accounts and access in an estate plan, otherwise your family will not be able to access anything.
If you have recurring payments or accounts online that your family does not know about or have access to, you must include this information in your estate plan so they can have get at them and keep up with your bills and records.
The same goes for your online financial accounts. If your family does not know about the files you keep or your passwords, they will not be able to utilize them after your death.
Tips for planning
There are a few ways you can make the process more straightforward. Storing and keeping your digital files safe and secure is very important. Here are a few tips to help you secure your online finances and keep track of your files, passwords and other information:
- Use an online storage system (i.e. the Cloud)
- Back up your files
- Write things down the old fashioned way
- Use a service for storage
After you’ve worked to secure your finances and other data information be sure that someone knows how to access them. You can include this in your estate plan.
Digital files and finances are now more important than ever. This can be crucial in your estate plan so being careful with how you digitally plan can help you in the future.
