Digital Asset Protection
What Are Digital Assets?
At present there is no legal definition of Digital Assets in the UK, but it is generally taken to include everything from email accounts, to social media and photographs stored online, as well as cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. However, many of the clients we speak to are uncertain as to which assets could be handed on to their heirs, and which are simply licences that expire on death.
Despite the lack of understanding, many individuals do not want their accounts to be shut down when they die. According to a recent survey in the UK, nearly 85% of those who had digital photographs do not want them erased on death. Almost 80% of those with digital documents and everyone with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies wanted to hand them on.
Of those who had included a clause in their Wills about Digital Assets, 100% said they were confident that the clause would work as intended, and of those who had Wills more than 65% planned to update them to include their Digital Assets.
Those that have financial value need to be included in the Inheritance Tax return that is completed after death as HMRC guidance has confirmed they will be treated like any other property for Inheritance Tax purposes.
We at ProbateNI feel it is vital to mention Digital Assets in your Will to ensure that they are passed on as you would wish. We have developed a unique system that makes sure your confidential and sensitive information, such as passwords or other security codes, cannot be accessed by any one individual or beneficiary.
Keeping an inventory of Digital Assets and updating it regularly is important and enabling family to access accounts, particularly email, is vital in ensuring that no assets are lost on death. The challenge is to do this securely and legally.
“We all probably realise that digital assets have crept up on us. A generation ago books were stored on shelves, photographs in albums and shareholdings were recorded in paper certificates. That is now no longer the case…….”