Living Well 60+ September – October 2015 | Page 31
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
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DIGITAL continued from Page 8
• bill payment accounts (bank, PayPal, utilities) and
asset account login management.
Some providers are starting to help users plan their digital
afterlife. Yahoo! says in its terms of service, “Any rights to
your Yahoo! ID or contents within your account terminate
upon your death.” Accounts may be deleted if a death certificate is submitted. Google introduced a new feature allowing
users to specify that after a certain period of inactivity, their
account data should be deleted or passed along to specific
individuals. At Facebook, relatives may be able to request the
contents of the account – a lengthy process involving a court
order – or ask that the page be deleted.
The first step for seniors beginning to consider digital
estate planning is to recognize the obstacles they face. Restrictions from service providers pose a challenge for heirs
who want to access your e-mail account to retrieve bills, for
example. And if you think no one will be the wiser if you just
log on to your deceased loved one’s account and make those
changes, think again. In most states, it’s illegal. And even
knowing exactly which “cloud” your information may be
floating on is a stumper.
Sometimes music and books may be passed on, sometimes not. Items downloaded from Google Play, for example,
end at the user’s death. But Apple’s iTunes store has removed
anti-copying restrictions on songs sold to users. At Kindle,
too, family members with user ID information for the account can access the digital content.
Cottage industries of online data-management companies have sprung up around this issue. Password Box and
Legacy Locker joined forces to organize online accounts on
a day-to-day basis and then provide that same continuum
to your online executor. Online storage company DSwiss
launched SecureSafe in 2009. It has already signed up more
than 300,000 individuals and is adding roughly 10,000 new
customers a week, the company says. But legal experts say
such services don’t resolve potential conflicts with online
providers’ terms of service, state or federal laws.
The bottom line is, a new estate planning niche has been
created. Start collecting your digital assets and recording
your passwords, user IDs and security answers. Decide who
is tech savvy enough to be your digital executor. Specify your
digital executor in your will or power of attorney, but don’t
put specifics in the will because it will become public record
once processed.
CASA continued from Page 10
sponsors several fund-raising events each year, including
the SuperHero 5K in September. CASA’s Bourbon Chase
Relay Marathon in October always sells out, Jamison said.
To participate, a team must raise $7,000. For more information, contact her at [email protected].
Anoth