Estate Planning and Administration in the Digital Age

As estate planners and tax advisors, when we think of estate planning and administration, certain assets come to mind. We typically think of real estate, vehicles, jewelry, and other tangible personal property. We might also think of financial assets, such as cash, stocks, and bonds. Those assets may have value—from both an economic and tax perspective. Other assets of an estate, such as photographs, may be limited to sentimental value. In recent years, a great deal of our property has been replaced by digital assets. Our photographs, music collections, and written correspondence have been replaced by digital pictures, online music collections, and emails, respectively. Other assets that still exist in traditional form are now controlled through a digital format. For example, we are now maintaining bank accounts on the Internet. We are even investing in financial assets that exist only in their electronic form, such as cryptocurrencies.