Who’s Managing Your Digital Life After Death? Meet the Digital Executor

Do you have an Instagram, Facebook or TikTok account? Do you have online banking accounts? Do you have hundreds, if not thousands, of photographs and videos saved to your phone or the cloud? What about email accounts, reward points, USB drives, or hard drives filled with digital information? Do you have any Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP or other cryptocurrencies? Everything listed here, plus much more, can be described as your Digital Assets.

Have you ever wondered or considered what happens to these Digital Assets when you die?

When you die, your digital assets become part of your estate, just like your physical assets, such as your house, car, and personal belongings—and your financial assets, including (but not limited to) bank accounts, savings, stocks, bonds, pensions, and certain insurance policies. Your estate also includes any outstanding liabilities or debts that remain at the time of your death.

Many people know that the most common way to protect your estate upon death and ensure that your wishes concerning your “stuff” are carried out is to have a Will. In your Will, you name a person or persons to administer your estate upon your death known as your Executor. Having a valid Will can protect your estate from falling into what is known as Intestacy, which happens when you die without a valid Will. When this happens, your estate will be distributed according to the laws of Intestacy, primarily covered in Alberta by the Wills and Succession Act.

In today’s modern Wills, we are seeing the emergence of individuals naming a Digital Executor, who, in a role similar to the aforementioned Executor, will administer what happens with your Digital Assets upon death.

Naming a Digital Executor is essential, not just because of the growing complexity of our digital lives in the mid-2020s but also because Alberta’s Wills and Succession Act, like those in most Canadian jurisdictions, hasn’t kept pace with technology. It doesn’t fully address the scope of our digital assets or clearly outline what happens to them when we die.

Although new laws and protections are evolving, this takes time, and there are steps that you can take now to protect and control what happens to your digital presence after your death. In our upcoming blog series, we will further unpack what digital assets are, why you need to plan for what happens to digital assets upon death, the risks of failing to prepare and how we can help you navigate today’s current realities regarding estate planning.

It’s always recommended that all adults have a valid and up-to-date Will, and with our lives becoming increasingly digital, online and in the cloud, it is more important than ever to consult with someone who can help you to protect your entire estate, including your digital assets. It’s never too early to start planning for what happens to your estate upon death, and in our modern online reality, that has never been truer.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we explore this further and consider contacting us at the Calgary Legal Team. We can assist you with these and any other estate planning concerns.

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