Digital Assets and Lasting Powers of Attorney
Digital assets are in essence anything created that belongs by you and is in digital form. This could be from data stored electronically such as in the cloud or online accounts for amazon, social media, shopping, subscriptions etc. It also includes your banking, computer hardware, and website/domain names you may own.
Have you considered however, what would happen if you were to lose capacity and how these assets would then be accessed and managed.
The starting point is that a lasting power of attorney for your property and financial affairs is paramount. This legal document will ensure that you have appointed persons you trust (called attorneys) to look after your affairs on your behalf.
However, it is important to use a legal professional to draft your lasting power of attorney because for your attorneys to be able to access and manage digital assets, the lasting power of attorney requires additional clauses in the document to empower your attorneys to handle digital assets. This is because, digital assets, under their respective agreements, will not allow access to a third party without such express authority.
We would also advise that a memorandum of digital assets accompanies the lasting power of attorney with details of all your digital assets, username and passwords and encourage that this is regularly updated whilst you have capacity for your attorneys to have access to.
By giving the right authority in your lasting power of attorney for your attorneys to access your digital assets along with a memorandum stored securely, you will have peace of mind that your digital assets will continue to be in managed in your best interests.
Our specialist lawyers at Welland Valley Legal are always happy to help with your enquiries. To find out more about our services, call us on 01858450765