The internet has become much more than a form of entertainment over the years. In addition to individuals sharing the things that they like and their experiences online, many businesses rely on social media to advertise. Some people, as many Massachusetts residents may already know, even make a living posting on social media through the support of sponsors. More and more people are also paying bills digitally and storing important information online. This may present some problems when it comes to estate administration.
It isn’t only financial accounts or business related accounts that are important. Personal accounts, like Facebook or e-mail accounts, can also hold very important information. However, it can be very difficult for executors or family members to access this information later. Even with access to the account usernames and passwords, the website’s policies may prevent anyone other than the account owner from accessing all of the account information.
Signing up for a password manager service like LastPass or Sticky Password can help. Not only do these types of services digitally store a person’s account passwords and usernames, they also provide a representative with access to those accounts later. Providing the executor or another representative with a list of all digital assets may also be helpful by allowing quick access to accounts that might otherwise be closed after being inactive for a certain length of time. An executor or another representative may also be able to access other useful information from accounts that family or friends might not think to look into, like blogs or cash-back accounts.
Massachusetts residents who have questions about estate administration or estate planning could benefit from speaking with an attorney in their area. Attorneys would be able to help to provide their clients with advice on how to handle certain digital accounts and the information they contain. They would also be able to help their clients to create new estate plans or alter existing ones.