STEP, the global professional body that comprises lawyers, accountants, trustees and other practitioners that help families plan for their futures, has launched a new campaign designed to increase public awareness of the need to make plans for digital assets, Today’s Wills and Probate reports.

The campaign focuses on digital possessions such as photos, videos and social media accounts and recommends simple actions people can take to ensure that their digital possessions aren’t lost or left inaccessible should they die or lose capacity.

The Society says it was motivated to launch the campaign because its 2021 report on digital assets revealed the lack of public awareness and that a quarter of estate practitioners found that their clients had experienced difficulties when accessing or transferring digital assets on death or incapacity.

No plans for passing on assets

STEP also commissioned a YouGov poll, which found that of the 2,000 UK people questioned, 64 percent said that what happened to their digital possessions after they died was important or very important to them, but 57 percent had made no plans for passing on these assets.

A mere 3 percent had used the digital legacy tools provided by the big tech companies such as Google and Apple.

STEP has developed a bespoke website – memories.step.org – and a video to share on digital channels, which aims to highlight the issue

Recommendations for accounts

The website makes three main recommendations. Everyone should:

  • Update their legacy settings on Google, Apple, Facebook and other platforms.
  • Talk to their family and friends about what they want to happen to their digital assets.
  • Share the video to help educate more people on the importance of protecting their digital assets for future generations.

Digital assets have increased in importance in the past few decades, and there are many reasons why family members or loved ones would need or want to access digital accounts when someone dies or becomes incapacitated.

One reason might be that access is needed to safeguard a deceased person’s financial property.

The campaign is also targeting governments and service providers to encourage better solutions and best practice, such as every service provider having a comprehensive legacy tool in place and a clause that allows access to a nominated person in the appropriate circumstances.

 

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