Cincinnati, Ohio Estate Planning

Access to Digital Accounts

Gaining access to a loved one's digital accounts after they pass away can be a difficult process. Most states have now passed a uniform law to help but it is still cumbersome.

Until recently, it was almost impossible for family members to gain access to a deceased person's digital accounts after they passed away. Whether access would be granted was at the sole discretion of tech companies, who often required judicial orders before they would even consider allowing families access to digital accounts.

Most states have now passed the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, Revised. The act sets out standard rules for access to accounts.

Getting access is still complex and it depends on a few factors, according to Slate in "The Digital Afterlife Is a Mess."

The process:

• If outside of its general terms of service, a website has a specific way to handle access to accounts of deceased users, then that process should be followed.
• If a website does not have that specific process, then a user can put in a will how the accounts should be handled and by whom.
• If nothing is mentioned about the accounts in a will, then any language to handle the death of users in the website's general terms of service agreement are used.
• If none of the above apply, then the Act can be used to gain access in some circumstances.

The process is still difficult, so families would be well-advised to seek the assistance of a Cincinnati estate attorney.

Remember: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” When making your estate plans or when probating an estate or administering a trust, do not go it alone. Be sure to engage a Cincinnati estate planning attorney.

For more information about estate planning, probate or trust administration in Cincinnati (and throughout the rest of Southwest Ohio) and to review free resources regarding estate planning, probate or trust administration, visit my website. If you have questions regarding this article or a particular legal matter, feel free to contact me at 513-399-PLAN (7526). 

Reference: Slate (Nov. 29, 2017) "The Digital Afterlife Is a Mess."

The Changing Face of Grief – Cincinnati Estate Planning

The Internet is changing how people mourn. Is it possible that in the future we will be able to plan our own digital funerals?

If you are a frequent user of Facebook or Twitter, then you have undoubtedly noticed that whenever a well-liked celebrity passes away the social media sites are flooded with an outpouring of grief. Even if you were not a fan of the deceased, it is impossible to avoid the outpouring.

Someone you know will post something that will make its way to your feed and many other people will comment on it.

According to MIT Technology Review, in an article entitled "The Internet Has Changed How We Deal with Death," this phenomenon is not going to go away. It is part of the new way we grieve for the deceased.

This raises an interesting question. If people now going to have what amounts to a public funeral via social media, could they possibly plan for those funerals in the same way they now plan for their more traditional funerals?

In some ways they already can. For example, people can now designate a legacy contact for their Facebook accounts. Who knows, in the future people may designate a Twitter hashtag they would like used for expressions of grief.

The Internet has not just changed how we grieve over death. It has also changed, whether we live in Cincinnati or elsewhere, how we should plan for our estates.

Detailing how our digital accounts should be handled after we pass away is an increasingly vital part of estate planning.

There are even services that allow for the digital storage of our estate plans and for turning over passwords to our digital accounts to a designated person after we pass away.

Remember: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” When making your estate plans or when probating an estate or administering a trust, do not go it alone. Be sure to engage a Cincinnati estate planning attorney.

For more information about estate planning, probate or trust administration in Cincinnati (and throughout the rest of Southwest Ohio) and to review free resources regarding estate planning, probate or trust administration, visit my website. If you have questions regarding this article or a particular legal matter, feel free to contact me at 513-399-PLAN (7526).

Reference: MIT Technology Review (Jan. 21, 2016) "The Internet Has Changed How We Deal with Death"

Apple Tells Widow to Get a Court Order For Husband's Password – Cincinnati Estate Planning

A Canadian widow had a much easier time transferring the titles to her home and car when her husband passed away than she had getting his Apple ID so that she could continue playing a card game.

To call Apple's ID policies when a person passes away strict would be an understatement.

Peggy Bush, a Canadian widow shared an iPad with her late husband on which she liked to play a card game. When she began having problems with the game her family decided to try reinstalling the game.

Unfortunately, Bush did not know her husband's Apple ID.

When her daughter called Apple she was initially told she would need to produce her father's will and death certificate to get the password.

When those were procured, Apple still refused to help.

Many phone calls later the family was told by Apple that they would need to get a court order for Apple to give them the password.

CBC News reported this story in "Apple demands widow get court order to access dead husband's password."

This is becoming a very common problem, and not just with Apple. Tech companies each have their own policy concerning when they will allow access to a deceased person's account. Despite the often express wishes of the deceased some companies will never allow access to accounts without a court order.

With business and financial transactions increasingly taking place online executors and family members, in Cincinnati and elsewhere, often need account access to handle the estate.

State legislators across the county are attempting to come up with a solution to this problem. Until it is fully resolved the best practice is to make sure the executor of your estate has a way to learn your account passwords. That way he or she can easily gain access to important accounts.

Remember: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” When making your estate plans or when probating an estate or administering a trust, do not go it alone. Be sure to engage a Cincinnati estate planning attorney.

For more information about estate planning, probate or trust administration in Cincinnati (and throughout the rest of Southwest Ohio) and to review free resources regarding estate planning, probate or trust administration, visit my website. If you have questions regarding this article or a particular legal matter, feel free to contact me at 513-399-PLAN (7526).

Reference: CBC News (Jan. 18, 2016) "Apple demands widow get court order to access dead husband's password."

Do Not Forget the Smaller Digital Accounts – Cincinnati Estate Planning

People are gradually beginning to understand that they need to ensure that there is a way for family members to access digital accounts after the owner passes away, at least so far as the biggest accounts are concerned, such as bank and social media accounts. However, it is often equally important to make sure that people can access smaller digital accounts that might be forgotten.

All sorts of digital accounts now require passwords. Why? To prevent fraud or theft.

This includes accounts we would not have considered as important even a decade ago.

For example, if you open a line of credit with a furniture store, you might be required to produce a password either online or by phone to do something as simple as check the account balance or the next payment due date. If there is still a balance due on the account, then it is important that your executor or estate administrator have that password so he or she can pay the appropriate amount.

If you think that these smaller accounts do not matter, you might be surprised to know that something as simple as scheduling cable repairs can be difficult without the password.

That was the case for a WGN reporter after her husband died of cancer. Her experience is recounted in a recent WGN article titled "Preparing for the digital afterlife."

Unfortunately, her husband was the only person who knew the password and the reporter was therefore unable to request any changes or repairs to the cable account.

When preparing your estate plan remember every account you have.

Even if you think it is too small to bother with in an estate plan, someone will need to have access to it if you pass away.

Contact an experienced Cincinnati estate planning attorney. He or she can help you ensure that such seemingly little details are not overlooked in your estate planning.

If you have any questions about any of the information contained in this blog, see the estate planning website of Cincinnati attorney, David H. Lefton, Barron Peck Bennie & Schlemmer, 3074 Madison Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45209, or contact him at 513-399-PLAN (7526) or by email at dhl@bpbslaw.com.

Reference: WGN (May 18, 2015) "Preparing for the digital afterlife."