A fiduciary is a person appointed to manage the property of another person. A digital asset fiduciary can manage digital property like computer files, web domains and virtual currency.
Current law restricts fiduciary access to electronic communications such as email, text messages and social media accounts unless the original user consented in a will, trust or power of attorney.
Digital assets have value and need to be managed much like your property and possessions. Start by taking stock of your online universe. Create a digital asset inventory, including user ids, passwords and ‘secret questions’. Consider these digital accounts making the list;
- Social media
- On-line subscriptions
- Marketplace accounts
- Cloud services
- Photos
- Streaming services
- Music
- File sharing and storage
- Financial services
- On-line dating
- Medical, insurance and utility websites
- Loyalty programs
- Software programs
- Contact lists
When you have completed your inventory, write down where you’ve stored the information and put that in your safe deposit box or store it in a secure location. Then consider adding the appropriate verbiage that names your digital asset fiduciary in your powers of attorney, will or trust.
