329. Digital Estate Planning: What Happens to Your Online Life?

In today’s world, much of our financial, personal, and sentimental lives live online. From bank accounts and crypto wallets to photos, emails, and social media profiles, your digital assets don’t disappear when you’re gone. If they’re not planned for, they can create confusion, stress, and even permanent loss for your loved ones. In this episode of the A Wiser Retirement® Podcast,  Shawna Theriault, CFP®, CPA, CDFA®, and Estate Planning Attorney Arun Gupta unpack what digital estate planning really means, and how you can take action in under an hour.

Related Podcast Episodes: 

Ep 312. Is Crypto Right for You?

Ep 220. Is Bitcoin more than digital gold?

Related Financial Education Videos:

Using an Online Estate Planning Service vs Using a Local Attorney

Does inheritance count as income?

Other Links:

AG Law

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Transcript

Framing The Digital Estate Problem

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Your digital life is part of your state, whether you plan for it or not. Today we're going to cover what actually happens to your accounts, what loved ones can legally access, and a practical checklist you can do in under an hour.

SPEAKER_02 0:12

Welcome to a wiser retirement podcast, where we cut through the noise and bring you real, honest conversations about investing retirement and building lasting wealth. No sales pitches, no gimmicks, just everything your financial advisor won't tell you.

SPEAKER_03 0:28

Welcome to a wiser retirement podcast. I'm Shauna Therrialt, Senior Financial Advisor at Wiser Wealth Management. And today I'm joined by estate planning attorney Arun Gupta. Today we'll be discussing your digital estate planning and what happens to your online life.

SPEAKER_04 0:44

Hi, Shauna.

SPEAKER_03 0:45

Hi, good morning. Good morning. Always good to see you.

SPEAKER_04 0:48

You too.

SPEAKER_03 0:49

Well, um, you know, this is kind of a, I would say it's probably not a newer subject, but it is somewhat newer subject in the estate planning. It's like we're seeing more and more of this, you know, where more online things, you know, digital assets, crypto, all these things. Um, and it's something that many don't even think about when you're thinking about how are my accounts titled and all these things. Um, and it's it's really interesting. And the and the biggest thing, it's like all the passwords, right? It's the statistic is the average person manages 168 personal passwords plus like 87 work passwords. So that's like 240, 50 passwords. That is wild.

Defining Digital Assets And Password Sprawl

SPEAKER_04 1:32

Yeah, it's a lot, a lot to keep up with. And, you know, that's um, and this is a like you said, this is somewhat new. Um, I know people have been living online for for decades now, but a lot of those people haven't died yet, right? So now that's kind of happening and more at the forefront of what actually happens.

SPEAKER_03 1:49

And I feel like more and more and more things are online and assets are online, and you know, it's just so I would say I'm saying it's somewhat new just because you know, things are changing quickly. And so we're we we have to keep up with those as new s situations arise in in the states and all of that, right? Yes. So just getting into a little bit of defining what a digital asset is and what counts. Um, I guess the first thing is like financial and value assets.

SPEAKER_04 2:17

Yes. You know, I I think there's, I mean, there's a few different definitions. Practically speaking, I think it's um a digital asset that has value, whether that value is economic, whether that value is sentimental, yeah. Um, it's got value and it's digitally stored. It's not like physical.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

Right. So that could be like your financial and financial assets. That's like banking, Venmo, credit cards, crypto wallets, domain names, you know, things like that, business logins. Um, I don't know that we think about all of, I mean, I think, you know, I think about when we're doing an estate plan. I know when I'm talking to a client, we're talking about the titling of the accounts and the house and the personal property. You know, I I don't know that we go into like all of the nitty-gritty, like the pictures and the sentimental things, you know, it could be like social media, subscriptions, password managers. I think we do talk a little bit about passwords and all of that, but um uh, you know, just really digging in and just thinking about that. Because I I don't know that that's a big topic of discussion surrounding the table, at least in this plan, and I think it needs to be more of that. No, I'm to be honest with you.

SPEAKER_04 3:36

I'm I'm with you. It's usually not brought up in meetings with me. Right. Um, you know, and and even, you know, looking over today's topic, I I need to bring it up more because we kind of just lump it in with everything else. But some of these things are quirky. Um, they're not all, hey, this is just part of everything.

SPEAKER_03 3:55

Right.

SPEAKER_04 3:56

Um, you know, there's privacy concerns with some of these things, you know. It it's at least something that um people should think about, you know, at least be aware that that what this is and what you want to have happen to it. Now, more often than not, most people are probably gonna just lump it in with the rest of their estate plan.

SPEAKER_03 4:14

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 4:14

But, you know, at least think about that. Maybe, maybe you don't want to do that.

SPEAKER_03 4:18

Well, you could have somebody, I was, you know, you and I were talking, we're gonna get into specifics, but even something like a Venmo account. It's like we don't even think about that. Somebody could have a lot of money just sitting in Venmo. Yep. And because maybe they have a small business or they get paid that way, or they're doing a side thing, or I don't know. Yeah, whatever. Or, you know, they're collecting money because they're the, you know, the team mom of a something. I it could be, you know, and you don't even know. And we don't really talk about that. Or I haven't.

SPEAKER_04 4:44

I haven't, to be honest with you, I haven't talked about the the the the link to it because you know, your your Venmo, Cash App, a lot of these apps, you may think, oh, you know, I can replenish it through my checking account. So it's kind of linked. So, but it's not all governed by your checking account. No, it actually is separate. It is separate.

SPEAKER_03 5:05

Yeah.

Money Apps And Hidden Balances

SPEAKER_04 5:06

Um, and you know, the easy thing to tell people would be, hey, well, just keep sweeping your money out into your checking account. So it's controlled by that. But again, like you said, if you're running a small business, maybe you're paying a lot of bills out of your, you know, Venmo, and you can't just keep sweeping, you need a large balance. Um, and you know, that that type of asset, it's it's governed by, you know, the provide Venmo. Venmo controls it. Their terms of service are going to uh spell out, you know, privacy concerns of what happens.

SPEAKER_03 5:40

Um, and but we don't actually actually even bring that up.

SPEAKER_04 5:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:44

And switching gears a little bit. So what happens when you actually die? There's like, there's like a couple different things. Um, you have the platform policies, which is what the company allows, like Venmo, Google, Apple, social platforms, things like that. Um, you know, then you have like the legal layer, what your executors permitted to do, um, and then the practical layers, what your family can actually pull off. So there's kind of three different things to really think about. So, in talking about like the platform policy, what the company allows, I haven't really dug into the social platforms. What can you do, you know, with TikTok X, you know, deletion options, um what Apple will allow, Google, et cetera. Um, you know, because each of them will have their own policies on what's accessible and what's not.

Platform Rules vs Law vs Reality

SPEAKER_04 6:35

Yeah, it's and it's tough, especially most people aren't probably written all the fine print of of you know these the companies, and they'll probably click buttons and just you know move on, right? But there is substance in those, and those things, those things do matter. And as you know, digital assets have gotten more prominent, a lot of these companies, knowing that people may not pay attention to this, they've set up a a layer at the at the front which helps with this. And that's um choosing uh a uh basically a legacy contact that's associated with those accounts, which come first. So if you put a a legacy contact on some of your social media platforms, that person can be contacted and can, you know, um get into your account essentially, right? After you after you pass away, if if you have that in in place.

SPEAKER_03 7:25

And that's the same with Apple as well.

SPEAKER_04 7:27

Yes, yes, the data companies are gonna have that. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 7:30

But that's interesting. Like I I didn't even know there was a thing as a legacy contact in Apple. Yeah. I you know, you don't think about that. It's like who can access this? You just think they have your passwords and all of that. But um, I didn't know you could list one of those. Yeah, you know, legacy contacts.

SPEAKER_04 7:45

And it's important because a lot of a lot of your life probably functions on a lot of you know these apps and platforms and uh a lot of data is on there, right? Um so if a company has, you know, those legacy contacts, right? That that is what's gonna come first, right? Um, but not all, not all companies have those, right?

SPEAKER_03 8:07

Um this is just something to be thinking about and looking at.

SPEAKER_04 8:10

Yes.

Legacy Contacts On Apple, Google, Social

SPEAKER_03 8:10

You know, it's like Google will have an inactive account manager that lets you designate contacts to receive selected data after an activity. So it's like not, you know, you can choose what you want it, you know, what they can access. Apple has that legacy contacts that lets someone access data in your Apple account after you pass away. Um, with process and safeguards, of course. But um, and then other social platforms, you know, just be thinking about that, um, meta, TikTok, etc. Um, if you can, you know, do memorialization, but who can access your information afterwards, if if anyone. So that's so interesting and just something that I think we need to talk about more in meetings. Um, you know, the the other one is really, um, and this is a great, you know, for you, the legal layer, you know, what can your executor actually do? What what are they permitted to do? Yes. This is that alphabet soup.

SPEAKER_04 9:06

Yeah. So it so and this was uh so Georgia and a lot of other states around this time kind of revamped their their statutes to to to cover digital assets. Um I think it's the the revised uh revised uniform uh digital access act, something it's like R-U-F-A-D-A-A. You know, basically it's basically I think of it as the the Digital Assets Act, but basically And most states have enacted that.

SPEAKER_03 9:36

Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 9:37

Uh some form of it.

SPEAKER_03 9:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 9:38

Uh but basically, so you're you're while you're alive, if you've got a financial power of attorney, so this is a document that that appoints an agent to step in and um have the authority to you know manage finances on your behalf, make sure bills are getting paid. That's why you're alive. And then your executor is after you you pass away, someone that is designated to basically step in your shoes and and manage your estate. Um on a on a big picture level, they've got the access to a catalog of your content uh of your digital assets. Meaning they can see uh for an email when you sent it to who, subject line, but they can't uh actually get the content of it. They don't have the legal authority to access the content of electronic communication.

SPEAKER_03 10:28

So they can see that so legally uh this act protects the content, is what you're saying. So it's like you can access to see what was happening, but you can't just you can't get into the details of it.

SPEAKER_04 10:39

Yes, but you can further spell that out within your documents. So for a financial power uh financial power of attorney, um, that Georgia does a standardized form now, but basically there's a section where you can give your agent extra powers that go above and beyond the statute.

SPEAKER_03 10:55

And you and I've talked about that on the show before.

What Executors Can Access Under RUFADAA

SPEAKER_04 10:57

Yes, yes, and and and the the one special power that I routinely tell clients, I think you should at least think about doing this, is that one. It is access the content of my electronic communication because you know there may be valuable information in there. The subject line to who was from that's not enough. You you need the content of it. Maybe it's got information about, you know, more information about your bills, which oh, just there's info in there, right? And if you sure give your agent that power, well then at least they have the legal authority to access the content. And then same thing, um, you know, with with wills when someone passes away. The default is access the catalog, but you can further spell that out in your estate planning documents to to have them access the content. Which I think default, I think it's it's it's helpful. But again, everyone's situation may be different. Maybe maybe you don't want to give someone the access to some actual content, you know. Right. Um things to there are things to be thinking about. But um that is that is something that is in place in most states, some form of that um i is going to be in place.

SPEAKER_03 12:03

Well, and and and and just practically speaking, then there's what your family can actually do um and what they can pull off. So what your executor is permitted to do legally has that act, and then you know, what they can do. So even if, you know, we talked to this a little bit, even if legally authorized, sometimes you hit walls because we have two-factor author authentication, unknown devices, things like that. And so, you know, if you're wanting to, I don't how do you get around that? I guess your your your cell phone should be in joint name with your spouse, or you know, because you know it's always like send a code and do a thing.

SPEAKER_04 12:39

Uh-uh, I'm with you. There's while, you know, I think multi, you know, two-factor authentication, it's definitely while you're alive, it's great, you know, because yeah, it's it's quick, it's easy, there's a big layer of protection there, right? But, you know, if you are incapacitated or or if you die, sometimes a password's not enough. You need to, you know, have that extra layer, right? So, um, and you know, just on a on a on a big picture level, right? I think making sure that your point person, whether it's your agent, executor, trustee, spouse, that person, you don't have to tell them your, you know, password, but at least tell them where that information is located.

SPEAKER_03 13:23

Because you know, I'm thinking about like photos, even like pictures of the family and all these things you've downloaded in your iPhone.

SPEAKER_04 13:30

Your iPhone code, right? Because if you need to, you know, authenticate it after you have already have the password, having access to the phone is very important.

SPEAKER_03 13:39

Email and phone are so I mean, even if you don't want people to like read your emails, because it's like, okay, maybe there's something they need in that, but just accessing like pictures on Dropbox or other other platforms that have all like the family photos and things like that, you know, and things you just don't think about. I mean, one person may have managed those for the house or family, um, and you just don't think about all the backups. And I mean, even things with just like paying bills or your backup quick and file, or you know, just like yes, there's there's a whole lot. Or old tax returns, or you know, one person does this and everything's tied to that, and they have to reset passwords and access it and you know, all of those things.

Two Factor Hurdles And Practical Access

SPEAKER_04 14:18

Yeah, that's why, you know, I think, and that's gonna be kind of a a theme is to make sure that your trusted person at the very least knows that you have these digital assets and they're again, you don't have to tell them your password, but at least let them know where they can access that information, you know, if and when, you know.

SPEAKER_03 14:40

Absolutely. Absolutely. Um this other thing to think about too is sort of the the digital afterlife. So it's like social media and permissions there and um something you just don't think about. It's like what happens to, you know, your Facebook, your other things. Um it's just interesting when we were when we were looking at this, memorialized accounts are becoming more common where you're you're kind of leaving this um, you know, all the stuff that this person and kind of leaving leaving a legacy because you can look back on their stuff and all of that. Um so Facebook has actually created and drawn attention and scaled towards legacy contact features. Um, so that's just really interesting. I don't I don't know, it's just something we don't I think it's just something we could briefly touch on with clients to think about these things. Like, what do you want to be left out there? Um, I don't know, this was interesting. Wired reported that 30 million users viewing of about 30 million viewers viewing memorialized profiles monthly. Yeah, and I think wow beyond the because you think how many people out there, I mean, it's just gonna be a huge amount of people that eventually, you know, as generations change. But that would be so interesting. You could actually go back and look at your great-grandmother stuff, you know? It's like you could actually get to know your ancestors online.

SPEAKER_04 16:03

There's value beyond Facebook providing your loved ones a value by having you know legacy contact. Sure. Obviously, part of this is it's it's good for them too, right? If there is, you know, more views, more, you know, ad revenue, et cetera, when there's this platform that exists for that purpose, right? Um uh so you know, I I think they're good to at least have that legacy contact, right? Because um, you know, it's it's the easiest way for that person to to access, you know, that information. Because if if you don't have one, automatically it's gonna become a lot harder. Not not to say that there's no way you can get into it if you don't have that, but it is going to make things significantly harder.

SPEAKER_03 16:44

Yeah. Um, especially it's it's just uh there there were um when we were looking at this, projections showed that deceased users' profile could become like a huge share of social networks. I mean, you can say, okay, you know, you could look at famous people, like think about years and years ago. If we could look up, you know, what famous people were doing, or I don't know, it's just really interesting to think about that. And you can like look at your families.

Memorialized Profiles And Privacy Tradeoffs

SPEAKER_04 17:06

I think it was a little jarring before when you'd see an account for someone that had passed away, like putting out, you know, tweets, posts, etc. I think it's almost, I don't know, it's normal now to meet to have to have to see it now, right? I think it's um again, these platforms are probably encouraging that too, right? Because again, it is it's it is more views. And hey, you know, it is a way for someone to be more connected with with someone that, you know, has passed away, a loved one, fan, whatever it is.

SPEAKER_03 17:36

Yeah, and just that that's just reiterated more. Be careful what you put out there because it could be. Of course.

SPEAKER_04 17:40

Oh, of course. And that's where the privacy part is, you know, because again, you you may want to lump this in with all of your other assets, right? But there may be things, likely are things on your social media that maybe you don't want someone to see the content of, right? So it's at least something to think about, not only for when you put these measures in place, but before you you post something, even, you know? Just think about all of these things, at least in the back of your mind.

SPEAKER_03 18:10

100%.

Password Managers And What To Document

SPEAKER_01 18:13

Quick check-in. Have you thought about the legacy you'll leave behind? Download seven steps to leave a financial legacy, a free guide from Wiser Wealth Management to learn more. It's not just about wealth, it's about leaving a lasting impact. Go to wiserinvestor.com forward slash guides to download your free guide today. Now let's jump back into the episode.

SPEAKER_03 18:38

Just want to go through a couple things. What do you recommend for, you know, storing passwords and all of that? Like what is what is the best thing to do with that?

SPEAKER_04 18:50

I think definitely having a password manager, especially I think what the the stat that you cited uh earlier about the 250s. Yeah, the number. It's it's impossible to keep up with everything these days, right?

SPEAKER_03 19:01

Having a I think that's why so many people use like the same password for everything, which is dangerous. Which is like so, and then you really need it to be really hard and you know, a really challenging passcode with different characters and all of that.

SPEAKER_04 19:15

So I I think you know, these uh last pass, um there's a where they generate a password for you. For for for all of your, I don't want to say your other, but basically the central password for these services is the is the one that you want to make sure, one, obviously you know it, right? But the but the but the person that may have to pick up the pieces, let them know where they can access that information. Now, um, I wouldn't put that info like in your in your will. Don't like put your password in there or anything like that.

SPEAKER_03 19:45

But and because that could be public yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 19:48

Public knowledge, right? Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 19:50

So yeah, if you change it, I guess.

SPEAKER_04 19:52

Yeah, but it's still something you just probably don't want out there, right? But um what I'll what I'll and the the built in provisions. That I'll have in my documents will will say I will give that extra layer to access the content. And I will also say that um there is a reference of these passwords that I intend to keep. Whether you do or you don't, it's kind of communicating that listen, I know you may need to get into these digital files. I I'm at least intending to create uh a something where you can access this, right? Now I think having these password managers is is where to do it because you don't need to list out all if you have that central password, that's really uh the key for them, right? I think that's gonna help them. Um and then also your your email and your phone, those passwords your email phone passcode and your password manager passwords, I think, are easy enough. That's not too overwhelming, at least, for for that to be um, you know, uh notated. Now, the the actual make it in plain English. You don't have to make it some formal legalese thing. Just put and and make sure that again the your point person knows that this document exists.

SPEAKER_03 21:05

And I think I think that should be done sooner rather than later, because I mean, even if you're young, we never know what's gonna happen. You could get in a car accident or something could happen, and you know Yes. Of course that's being prepared is is very important, of course.

SPEAKER_04 21:19

And and while this may sound overwhelming, and it is, the actual time it takes for you to sit down and do it's probably not gonna be that long. I bet you could probably do it in under an hour.

SPEAKER_03 21:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 21:30

Um we're gonna do a checklist, yeah. You know, and you can at the very least, that is gonna take care of that that one hour you you spent, I can guarantee you, um, is worth a 10, 20, 100 times what the other person may have to deal with.

Crypto Wallets, Seed Phrases, And Risk

SPEAKER_03 21:44

Well, and it's really like thinking about if you're opening a new type of money transfer account, even like a Venmo or whatever, thinking about okay, you know, can someone you just being mindful of it and knowing that there's an option to give somebody access or just be thinking about that. Yes. Because I think that's something that I didn't think about either. Yeah. You know, just generally like the little random things we have sitting out there. So we're so we're very careful with clients to be like, okay, we're gonna do revocable living trust, we're gonna make sure things probated, we're gonna do all these things, but then we may have these little yes, and sometimes it may not be worth it to just let them go to unclaimed property, maybe.

SPEAKER_04 22:18

I don't know if it's worth it to do like two dollars, but you know, that's another reason why I think it may be good to sweep some of these accounts out so there's not that much of a balance in there. So if the worst thing happens, you don't have it set up, well, it's not, you know, gonna be as devastating as it would be otherwise. But right, you know, there's there's um there's a lot you can do to help people with with with this. Absolutely. You know, and uh again, you can updating your estate planning documents. This is another, you know, this is part of it, right? While while you're doing you if you're already updating your estate planning documents, think about this, right? It's a good time to knock it all out.

SPEAKER_03 22:52

And sometimes clients will ask us, like, I can just go and write my own will or you know, go pull one from online, but does it address all this? May probably not. I mean, you know, it's kind of messy. Yeah, it is you know, it's like one of those details that you're not thinking about that, you know, exactly it it it gets missed potentially.

SPEAKER_04 23:08

Yes, no, I I'm with you. I mean, I I generally speaking, even if you pull something online, I'm guessing it's probably gonna be better than not having anything. All of that being said, it's still it's it's good to think about as part of your you know whole estate plan.

SPEAKER_03 23:20

Have you had to deal yet with, and if you haven't, that's okay with any like crypto wallet or crypto.

SPEAKER_04 23:26

I personally I have not had to deal with someone dying that had crypto and that asset being difficult to transfer. However, it happens uh all the time. And and crypto, um, you know, when you hear digital assets, that might be the first thing that you think of. I know it there's a lot more to it, but crypto obviously is, you know, is classified as a you know, it would be a digital asset. And there's there's a I I'm not I'm no cry crypto expert at all, but you know, there's a lot of things.

SPEAKER_03 23:54

We're all getting trained on all of this, right?

SPEAKER_04 23:56

Yes, there's the there's there's uh cold wallet and uh and a and uh and a hot wallet. But the the cold wallet cryptos are basically it's not connected to the internet. It's uh on maybe your your password, your i is is your seed phrase is on a it's on a uh on a USB drive, right? It's a physical device. If you can't access that, it's over. There's there's no customer service line you can call. There's no it you're not getting it, right? While it while you're alive, obviously it's gonna provide uh the most protection because it's not out there. It could make things difficult for for your your point person, right? So again, have make sure that that info is on whatever document it is that you prepare if you do have crypto for your point person so they can deal with it. And then the you know, the the exchanges, the the the hot wallets that's connected to the internet, while that may be you know more susceptible to data breaches while you're alive. At the least when you pass away, it's more accessible. It's still not as easy as dealing with like a standard financial institution. But um, yeah, crypto is is is is is much harder uh to to deal with when someone passes away.

The One Hour Digital Estate Checklist

SPEAKER_03 25:09

And I think I think that's just something that's gonna be coming up more and more where we're thinking about that and for sure. Where it's gonna be ongoing learning for all of us in that in estate planning, sure. Yes. Um, okay, so we have uh a checklist. Um, this actuable to do do this today plan. So this can be something that's done very quickly. Um, you know, we have different steps here for for you to think about and to go through. Um, so step one, just inventory. This can take like 15 minutes. This like the whole goal of this is like less than an hour at least to start thinking about and doing. So step one, doing an inventory.

SPEAKER_04 25:47

And you don't have to, don't feel like every teeny little at least get the big ones. At least get the big ones, you know?

SPEAKER_03 25:54

Google, um, yeah your phone, your email, at least have your phone carrier, yes, I wouldn't, you know, phone, banking, social media, cloud photos, crypto, key subscriptions, all of those.

SPEAKER_04 26:06

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_03 26:07

Um, so just list it out.

SPEAKER_04 26:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 26:09

Um, and then note where the data lives too.

SPEAKER_04 26:12

Yes, yes. Again, it plain English, right? Tell the person where it is, right? Because if you do all this work and they can't find it, right, let them know where that information is.

SPEAKER_03 26:22

Well, because like some people back up to like the iCloud, some people do Google Docs, some people do like Dropbox, you know what I mean? Have like a third party that's doing their backup, you know, with their information. So um, now you may know with your spouse, but if you step in as like a grown child and you're helping your parent, you may not know that, you know. Or if you have somebody who's a family friend that's an executor or something, they're not gonna probably know any of that stuff.

SPEAKER_04 26:47

That's right. And but you know, it the if the person does know, obviously it's gonna make things a whole lot easier. Right. Um, especially when, you know, when someone passes away and a if an institution knows about it, they're gonna freeze your account, right? So um having that information uh accessible, I think it can it can help.

SPEAKER_03 27:04

Yeah. So just step one, list out everything and where it's at and all of that. And step two, choose the roles. So who do you want to handle the financial, the financial executor? It doesn't have to be the same people. Um, your digital executor. I don't even in the documents are they make they're not even making that separate, right? No. Okay. So um somebody, uh it's just something to think about a digital executor, somebody who's tech capable to help, um, a financial executor, uh, and then legacy contacts on major platforms. So just know who you want to handle those things, um, and then who the legacy contacts are, and then start thinking about adding legacy contacts.

SPEAKER_04 27:42

For sure. I think, especially unless big platforms they offer it, putting that person's name in there is making sure to change it if you get divorced or whatever.

SPEAKER_03 27:51

I don't even, that's a whole nother show. Yes, yes, about changing all this if you get divorced. And yes, yes.

SPEAKER_04 27:57

Um, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 27:59

I don't even know. I wonder if it would just stay there. Yeah, I don't even I don't want to think about that. But we well, that's probably something else we we need to address at some point. Yes. It's like because we always say change your life insurance and your retirement beneficiaries.

SPEAKER_04 28:11

To do it is because, hey, listen, if you put your your ex-spouse as your legacy contact. I don't know. Probably they're probably gonna see some things that not gonna make them very happy.

SPEAKER_03 28:20

Well, and and I don't even know if we'd have to look at that. We didn't even prepare for that. If it's like, does it just go away if you're divorced? I don't know. Maybe not. That would be interesting. Um, step three, use platform tools uh first. They can override other documents.

SPEAKER_04 28:34

Yes, and and overriding documents. Yeah, that's that that's a good point because you know it the legacy contact, that's it, it's like a beneficiary designation form. No matter what you have in your will, if you've got a beneficiary designation form, that and whatever that says, that's the first thing that a custodian is going to look at. Same thing with this legacy contact. Okay. If you have it, they're going to that first before you know your before your documents.

SPEAKER_03 28:56

Yeah, because you may have put someone on there that you wanted different.

SPEAKER_04 28:59

Yep. And then, you know, within the next one is is what your estate planning documents say, right? If you, if you if you put that person in there, the you know, granting more, you know, access to the content, not just the catalog. But let's assume most people don't have estate planning documents, right? If there's no legacy contact, there's no estate planning documents, the the terms of service of Google, Apple, et cetera, will control. And most of those are going to default to ultimate privacy. They're not going to want. Their default isn't, hey, I'll just give the spouse this information and you know, the after that court orders, et cetera. No one wants to deal with any of that, right? So um, that's kind of the the order of operations with that.

SPEAKER_03 29:35

Yeah. So using the platform tools, you know, just listing out again, Apple Legacy Contact, Google and Active Account Manager, the social platform memorialization settings, because you can actually do your own.

SPEAKER_04 29:47

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 29:48

Um, and then step four, document consent and instructions. So in your estate plan, that's what you were mentioning, you know, who can access digital assets, whether they can get the contents or just, you know, high level it of what was going on. Um, and then keep the how-to details like account lists and recovery steps outside of the will if you want easier updating and more privacy.

SPEAKER_04 30:10

Yes. And again, that memo, plain English, don't feel like you need to make it fancy. Um, memorialize it though, in some way, shape, or form, whether it's a document, you know, that's got even more privacy on your computer or it's just on a sheet of paper, right? Have that Sure.

SPEAKER_03 30:25

Um, step five, secure sharing. Never put passwords in the will, like you mentioned. Um, so using that password manager, emergency access, inheritance feature or secure vault approach. Yes. Um, so you you it you maybe you can list a manager's emergency access on the password manager, emergency access, here's you know, who you can um and then make sure at least one trusted person can pass the two-factor all candidation hurdles.

Priorities, Documents, And Next Steps

SPEAKER_04 30:51

Yes, the two-factor, you know, I I deal with this all the time. Me and my wife, if I'm dealing with our insurance, uh if she's on the phone with them, I may get a text message that says with with the two-factor authentication. If I'm busy in a meeting and I don't see it, she can't talk to someone about something. We've we've had this happen before. So that's what rung up rung a bell with me. Uh the two-factor authentication. Know that that exists too, not just the password. There's that extra layer. So phone passcode right there with that.

SPEAKER_03 31:21

But just make sure you're not weakening the strength, you know, you know, how have a plan for that and like how to access it, but make sure you still have the security there. Cause we don't want, we don't want, you know, people getting burned or anything. And then step six, decide your digital wish wishes, meaning, um, do you want to keep it versus deleting it? Do you want your social accounts out there? Do you want your photos out there? Do you want your personal site and domain out there? Or do you want it deleted if something happens to you?

SPEAKER_04 31:49

And, you know, maybe your executor feels a lot differently than you do about these things. Maybe it's a way that they may think they're healing, but maybe that's not what you want. Maybe you don't want all that stuff out there, right? Think about it and and try and make an informed decision, whatever that is.

SPEAKER_03 32:05

Yeah. So as you mentioned, you could write like a short digital legacy letter, um, you know, just what you want posted and what you don't, and all of that. Um so really, uh, you know, traditional estate planning is something that may have a gap. It's like only 32% of people have a will. Um, so that means that digital planning is really non-existing too.

SPEAKER_04 32:31

Yeah, that's where that that's why the default of the terms of service might not be a good thing. Yeah. You know.

Closing Notes And Disclosures

SPEAKER_03 32:37

So, I mean, in summary, this is a good checklist to go through and just be thinking about and, you know, listing all this out, documenting what is it you want. Um, just be thinking about all these things and, you know, definitely get your estate planning documents in order. Make sure it addresses these. Don't just do willy-nilly off the internet, you know, reach out to a rune or another attorney to help you with that. Um, you know, and just be thinking about when you open different accounts, you know, how could this impact if I wasn't here? You know, do I need to put somebody's name on this? Just be it not just your traditional. We're we're so high, I have been as an advisor, so hyper focused on IRAs and, you know, brokerage accounts and the house and all of that. But that's just something that needs to be brought up more, it's the digital side of things too. For sure. Well, thanks for listening to today's episode. If you're interested in learning more about Wiser Wealth Management or want to schedule a consultation to meet with one of our fiduciary advisors, you can do so by going to Wiser Investor or you can click the link in the episode notes. We'll see you next week.

SPEAKER_00 33:42

Thanks for listening to a Wiser Retirement Podcast. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Make sure to subscribe wherever you're listening. That way you don't miss any new episodes. We'd also appreciate if you could leave a rating and review. If you have any questions about anything that was discussed today, head to wiserinvestor.com and reach out. This podcast is strictly for informational purposes only and is not to be considered as investment advice or solicitation to buy or sell any financial products, securities, digital assets, or any other investment vehicle, or basis to make any financial decisions. Wiser Wealth Management Incorporated is a registered investor advisor with the SEC. The host and or guest may personally own securities, digital assets, or other investment vehicles mentioned on this podcast. Neither the host nor guest of the show are compensated for their participation, and no referral fees are paid to or received by any host or guest for clients, listeners, or similar interests. Investments involve risk, and unless otherwise stated are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial advisor, tax professional, insurance professional, andor legal professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.