Law Times

Law Times • February 23, 2015 Page 11 www.lawtimesnews.com Estates lawyers dealing with 'a new breed of asset' By Judy van rhiJn For Law Times s paper trails fade and digital assets increase, executors are finding themselves needing access to inventories of online accounts. Noah Weisberg of Hull & Hull LLP believes it's an excit- ing time in the estate law com- munity as lawyers increase their understanding of the effect of digital assets. "It's a new breed of asset," he says. "It is now in the forefront of our minds and our clients need to become aware. They need to meet with a solicitor and make estate planning decisions that will make life easier for every- one." Unfortunately, there's a real lack of awareness, according to Adnan Chahbar of Siskinds LLP. "I'm thinking along a broad spectrum of clients, from the young who are maybe more tech savvy and experienced to older clients, as well as in the bar. Wills and estates is an area practised by a broad range of practitioners. There are a lot of lawyers and advisers who work in trust companies and banks who have very little awareness. It is such a new area. Digital assets are often perceived as not hav- ing much value, but that's not true at all." Susanne Greisbach of BrazeauSeller.LLP in Ottawa feels it's becoming a bit more commonplace to address the is- sue but notes it's still not a matter of course for many clients. "The first time I bring it up with cli- ents, I generally get a surprised reaction," she says. Greisbach says dealing with digital property is just as impor- tant as other assets. "Even when you are holding real property, the information is stored electronically. Assets as diverse as bank accounts and PayPal are all done in the cloud. What happens if something happens to someone? How do people access it?" Weisberg sees two main ar- eas where digital assets are hav- ing a big impact on estate plan- ning. "The first is sites where people have amassed music, movies, and e-books. . . . Tradi- tionally, you would have passed over your record collection, but now it is stored electronically. Some people have also amassed a significant amount of value in loyalty programs. "The second area is the digi- tal legacy — the online footprint — such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These are the two main areas that peo- ple haven't drawn attention to in their estate planning. Tradition- ally, they are overlooked." Chahbar believes the devel- opment of proper mechanisms to deal with digital assets is still a work in progress. "The history of wills and estates is hundreds of years old. All the mechanisms for dealing with tangible as- sets have been in place forever. You can dispose of your assets in a will without knowing ex- actly how they will all be dealt with but you know that there is a seamless way to do it. At this point, we are just turning peo- ple's minds to the need to deal with digital assets, then doing the hard work of figuring out how." Greisbach notes each online account often has different pass- words that keep changing all of the time. "How do you even pass on information to your execu- tor or personal representative to access them? Everything keeps changing so rapidly." She recommends a master list recording the main sites people visit and the main information for each of them. "Not for every- thing but for certain key assets," she says. "Usually, wills do not men- tion every single asset, tangible or intangible. People leave a memorandum or note that ex- ecutives refer to for further in- structions. There are a myriad of options for recording your digital information from online registers to lists on paper. You're not sharing the information but sharing where the information is located with key people." She notes some web sites such as Google have an inac- tive account manager function. "It's almost like estate planning. You set up an e-mail account so that if you haven't logged in for a certain amount of time your information is sent where you want it sent. They are not perfect solutions but there are products out there trying to address the concerns." Most of the software prod- ucts currently available, such as My Life Locker, Estate Map, and Estate Assist, simply store infor- mation and instructions. "They help pass on valuable informa- tion such as passwords and user names," says Weisberg. "One central hub stores all the electronic information. If you use the software, then your instructions and wishes are abundantly clear and the in- formation is readily accessible. Once they can access it, you need to consider what you want done." LT FOCUS Childview_LT_Nov4_13.indd 1 13-10-28 4:47 PM Untitled-3 1 2015-02-17 10:42 AM A

• Cover