In Tulsa, effective digital estate planning ensures digital assets are protected, accessible, and transferred according to your wishes after your death. As our lives become increasingly digital, it’s no longer enough to plan for the distribution of just physical property and bank accounts. Your digital life—email accounts, social media profiles, cryptocurrency, online businesses, and even cloud storage—can hold both emotional and financial value.
What Are Digital Assets?
Digital assets include any online accounts or content you control electronically. These may range from sentimental to highly valuable assets, including:
- Email accounts (e.g., Gmail, Outlook)
- Social media profiles (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)
- Online banking and investment accounts
- Cryptocurrency wallets (e.g., Bitcoin, Ethereum)
- Cloud storage (e.g., Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox)
- Photos, videos, and documents stored online
- Revenue-generating content (e.g., blogs, YouTube channels, e-commerce sites)
- Domain names and digital trademarks
Like traditional property, these assets require clear instructions in your estate plan to avoid confusion, loss, or unauthorized access. Most companies have strict privacy policies, and federal laws, such as the Stored Communications Act, restrict third-party access to your online data, even after your death.
In Oklahoma, your digital assets are considered part of your estate, and failing to plan for them can delay the probate process, cause emotional distress, or result in lost financial resources.
How to Plan for Digital Assets
To protect your digital estate in Tulsa, follow these key steps:
1. Inventory Your Digital Assets
Start by listing all of your digital accounts and assets. Include usernames, platforms, and descriptions of what each account contains or controls. Avoid including passwords directly in your estate plan; instead, store them in a secure password manager.
2. Name a Digital Executor
Appoint a trusted person to serve as your digital executor. This individual will handle your online accounts and digital property according to your instructions. Oklahoma recognizes the use of a digital executor when authorized in your will or trust.
3. Include Digital Instructions in Your Will or Trust
Be specific in your estate documents. Include language that grants your digital executor the legal authority to access, manage, and transfer digital assets. You can also specify what should happen to each type of account—whether it should be deleted, memorialized, or transferred.
4. Use Online Tools
Many platforms (like Facebook, Google, and Apple) now offer legacy planning tools. These options allow you to select someone to manage your account or set preferences for what happens to your account after your death. Use these features in coordination with your formal estate plan.
What Happens If You Don’t Plan?
If you pass away without addressing digital assets, your loved ones may have to petition the court for access, or they may never recover the content or value stored in those accounts. This can result in lost photos, unrecoverable funds, or locked-out business operations.
Tulsa courts follow Oklahoma probate procedures, and without clear authorization, executors may struggle to manage online accounts or even discover their existence.
Tulsa Estate Planning Attorneys
Digital estate planning is a vital part of modern estate management. Whether you’re creating your first will or updating an existing plan, don’t leave your digital legacy to chance. At Tulsa County Lawyers Group, we provide guidance that brings peace of mind. Get a free consultation from an estate planning attorney by calling 918.379.4864, or you can ask an online question by following this link.
