by Ioanna Ata | Sep 21, 2018 | Digital Estate Planning, Estate Planning, Life Insurance
Not long ago we talked about the fact that only 42 percent of U.S. adults currently have estate planning documents such as a will or living trust.. The situation in Australia is quite similar with only 55% of adults having a will.
In this article we’d like to highlight some of the most important findings from a report prepared by Charles Sturt University and The University of Adelaide called “Estate Planning in Australia or: it will never happen to me”. You can find the full report here.
Do you have a current up-to-date will?
44.90% of the respondents do not have a will. Of the other 55% that do have one, only 24% have an up-to-date will. As discussed in one of our previous articles having an outdated will is one of the top estate planning mistakes.
Have you discussed your will?
It’s a positive sign that almost everyone has discussed their will with spouse, partner or family, considering the difficulty of this conversation.
Have you created a pre-paid funeral plan?
Only 13.70% have created a pre-paid funeral plan. This low number might be due to the fact people don’t realize that the funeral could cost to your family up to $20,000.
Do you have Life Insurance?
It’s interesting to note that, according to the report, “individuals in a relationship, with children, and a higher disposable income are more likely to have life insurance.” If you’re one of the 36% that have a life insurance or are planning to have one we recommend to make sure your family will be able to find your life insurance information. This advice is based on our previous research where we found that “millions of families (yes, millions!) have lost billions of dollars”.
Online Assets
Even though the table below shows that almost everyone possesses online assets, only 28% know what will happen to their online assets in the event of incapacitation or death. If you are among the other 72% we advise you to take care of your online assets. You can download our free “Digital Estate Planning Checklist” from here.
Have you prepared a Formal Succession plan?
As we have noted in one of our articles, estate planning is even more essential for business owners. In fact, your business insurance might even require that you have some sort of plan in place to ensure that your business can continue even if you are gone. And by putting your affairs in order you can best protect both your family and your business.
According to the research paper less than 26% of business owners have prepared a succession plan.
We hope this article was helpful!
And don`t forget that you can safely store all of your estate planning documents in AfterVault.com so your family can find them when they most need your vital information.
Disclaimer: We are not lawyers. Please talk to your lawyer if you have any questions or doubts about your situation.
by Ioanna Ata | Jul 4, 2018 | Digital Estate Planning
Each of your online accounts requires passoword and username or email. There are several password managment services that store your passwords in a private account. Some of these services are LastPass and 1Passwords. If you use one of them then you will be interested to learn what will happen to your account if you are no longer around.
LastPass
An emergency contact can be assigned to your account. This person will be able to request access to your account and will gain access to it if you don’t respond in a specified period of time. Read more about LastPass instructions here.
1Password
An ‘emergency kit’ can be created and kept in a safe place, such as AfterVault.com, for your family to use in an emergency. Read more about 1Password instructions here.
Don`t forget that you can store your passwords in AfterVault. Regardless of how you take care of your of digital assets and accounts, you’ll need to be sure the right person gets the right instruction and information at the right time. AfterVault.com provides a secure and dependable way to do this.
by Ioanna Ata | Jun 29, 2018 | Digital Estate Planning
PayPal is an „online payments system that supports online money transfers and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods like cheques and money orders“. If you like to shop online and you use PayPal, then you will be interested in learning what will happen to your account if you are no longer around.
To close a PayPal account, your family will need a death certificate and an executor.
Here is all the information and documents you need to provide to PayPal:
– If there is a Will
You need to provide a certified copy of the will, which identifies the Executor.
– If there isn`t a Will
You need to provide a statement of who the likely Administrator is, their interest in the estate and relationship with the deceased.
PayPal also requires:
– The contact details of the Executor or Administrator
– A government-issued photo ID of the Executor or Administrator.
– The original or a certified copy of the death certificate.
– If already obtained, it would also be helpful to have a certified copy of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.
When you have all the documents ready, you need to contact PayPal.
If you are interested to learn more about how you can protect your digital assets, you can check some of our articles on the topic:
Is there a way to protect my digital assets if I die?
Free Digital Estate Planning Checklist : Protect Your Digital Assets
What happens to your Twitter account when you die?
What happens to your Instagram account when you die?
What happens to your LinkedIn account when you die?
What happens to your Pinterest account when you die?
What happens to your Flickr account when you die?
What happens to your Google account when you die?
What happens to your Amazon account when you die?
What happens to your Yahoo account when you die?
What happens to your Dropbox account when you die?
What happens to your Shutterfly account when you die?
by Ioanna Ata | Jun 20, 2018 | Digital Estate Planning
At Shutterfly.com you can create photo books, personalize photo cards and stationery, and share photos with family and friends. If you use their services then the following information will be useful to you.
Can you access the account of a deceased family member?
Shutterfly will grant access to an account when presented with a death certificate and a power-of-attorney. Here is the information you need to provide to the company in order for them to grant you the access:
• Your full name and contact information, including a verifiable email address.
• The email address associated with the Shutterfly account of the individual who has passed away.
• A copy of the death certificate of the deceased.
• A copy of the document that gives you Power of Attorney over the estate of the deceased.
• If you are the parent of the individual and the individual was under the age of 18, the Power of Attorney is not required; please instead send a copy of the Birth Certificate.
You should have in mind that Shutterfly cannot honor requests that do not have this level of proper authority.
If you are interested to learn more about how you can protect your digital assets, you can check some of our articles on the topic:
Is there a way to protect my digital assets if I die?
Free Digital Estate Planning Checklist : Protect Your Digital Assets
What happens to your Twitter account when you die?
What happens to your Instagram account when you die?
What happens to your LinkedIn account when you die?
What happens to your Pinterest account when you die?
What happens to your Flickr account when you die?
What happens to your Google account when you die?
What happens to your Amazon account when you die?
What happens to your Yahoo account when you die?
What happens to your Dropbox account when you die?
by Ioanna Ata | Jun 13, 2018 | Digital Estate Planning
Next in our list to cover is Dropbox. If you have documents or pictures stored in a Dropbox account then is a good idea to know what will happen to your account if you are no longer around.
Will your family get access?
You can make it easy by granting access to loved ones. Otherwise, they’ll need a court order. Your loved ones need to request access and provide documentation that:
– The person is in fact deceased
– They have a legal right to access the person’s files
According to Dropbox they need to send the following information to us by mail:
– The full name of the deceased person
– The email address associated with that person’s Dropbox account
– Your name, mailing address, email address, and your relationship to the deceased person
– A photocopy of your government-issued ID
– A valid court order establishing that it was the deceased person’s intent that you have access to the files in their account after the person passed away, and that Dropbox is compelled by law to provide the deceased person’s files to you
If you are interested to learn more about how you can protect your digital assets, you can check some of our articles on the topic:
Is there a way to protect my digital assets if I die?
Free Digital Estate Planning Checklist : Protect Your Digital Assets
What happens to your Twitter account when you die?
What happens to your Instagram account when you die?
What happens to your LinkedIn account when you die?
What happens to your Pinterest account when you die?
What happens to your Flickr account when you die?
What happens to your Google account when you die?
What happens to your Amazon account when you die?
What happens to your Yahoo account when you die?
by Ioanna Ata | Jun 8, 2018 | Digital Estate Planning
Do you have Yahoo email? Or do you use any of Yahoo services? If your answer is „yes“, then the following information will be useful for you.
What are the available options if Yahoo account owner is not longer around?
In these cases, Yahoo has a process in place to request that your loved one’s account be closed, billing and premium services suspended, and any contents deleted for privacy.
Yahoo allows accounts to be closed and billing suspended with a user id, a death certificate, and proof of executorship.
To request closing account, you need to provide specific documents, which are:
• A letter containing your request and stating the Yahoo ID of the deceased
• A copy of a document appointing the requesting party as the personal representative or executor of the estate of the deceased
• A copy of the death certificate of the Yahoo account holder
You need to be aware that Yahoo cannot provide passwords or allow access to the deceased’s account!
