As you make your estate plan, you start by going through all the assets that you own. You know that it’s wise to take inventory at the beginning so that nothing gets overlooked as the plan gets to be more complex.
What you realize is that you’ve purchased a lot of digital assets. These could include audiobooks, e-books, movies, video games, TV shows and music albums, just to name a few of the most common examples. You may have invested thousands of dollars in these items.
If you go back a generation, your parents may also have invested a lot in these types of entertainment. But they were mostly buying physical assets, which then got passed down to you and your siblings. Can you in turn pass your digital items down to your family?
You may not actually own them
In a lot of situations, you actually can’t pass digital assets down because you don’t own them.
The reason for this is that some companies’ terms and conditions stipulate that you’re not buying the asset at all. You’re just buying a license to that asset. As long as you have the license, you can use it whenever you want, but you don’t own it. You’re also not allowed to pass the license to someone else or give them your account information. Therefore, with a lot of digital assets – but not all – there’s really no way to put them in your will.
If you do feel like your estate plan is getting complex or you have other questions like this, carefully take the time to look into all of the necessary legal steps to protect your estate and your family’s future. There’s plenty of help available here in Oak Hill and the surrounding area.