Is it time to update my estate plan?

Once we have an estate plan done, it is a breath of fresh air, a weight off of our chests. However, what many drafters forget is that estate plans are living documents that should change as we change. And, for most, if not all drafters, we should update our estate plans now because they probably do not include our entire digital life and assets.

Digital life?

The lives that we live online have value. Our social media is a repository of our thoughts, feelings and a lifetime of videos and pictures. These have value. They may not have a discernable dollar value, but they have a value to our loved ones. This can be as a simple remembrance, or they may want to turn our social media into forever online memorials. This is why our estate plans should include bequeathing those accounts to our loved ones. Talk to them, and see who would find them valuable.

Digital assets?

That Vudu account with hundreds of movies, or that digital music collection with thousands of songs has value. The have a discernable dollar value as these electronic media have a dollar value associated with them. However, our personal collection also has value to our family members. This is why we should also talk to our family about the value they place on these digital assets, and bequeath them accordingly.

Cryptocurrencies and NFTs

Speaking of digital assets with discernable dollar values, there are cryptocurrencies and the newer digital assets, NFTs. All of these have discernable dollar values based on established online brokerages. They can be freely traded and sold, and they should be included in all estate plans.

E-life

For our Texas readers, the key takeaway from this blog post is that it is time to revisit our estate plans. Even if we already planned for the entirety of digital assets and life, values change and collections expand. As they change, so to should our estate plans.