Digital Inheritance

Research suggests that an increasing number of people are leaving internet passwords in their wills as part of their Estates.

This emerging trend comes as many of us have collections of films, photos, videos and music stored online, protected by passwords. The research carried out by computing company Rackspace polled 2,000 adults and found that 25 per cent had more than £200 of items stored online. Of those polled, nearly a third felt that their online collections were valuable enough to be passed on to their beneficiaries.

The research by Rackspace estimates that Britons have compiled digital assets of £2.3 billion. As people turn increasingly to online storage that figure will increase and it will need to be considered by individuals when making their wills.

So how should people deal with their online passwords in their wills?

Our advice is that the passwords should not be included in the will itself but in a separate confidential letter that is placed with your will. The reasons for that are once your will is proven and a Grant of Probate obtained, it will become a public document. The risk therefore is that if your online account is still active at that time it could be accessed by someone unknown to you and without your consent. Alternatively depending on the content of your passwords, you may prefer that they are not available for public consumption. 

If you have online collections of music, photos etc and you would like them to pass on to your loved ones on your death then you should discuss this issue with your solicitor when making or updating your will.

The Private Client team at Kitsons, which has offices in Torquay, Newton Abbot, Plymouth and Exeter can help you with this.