The purpose of a will is to distribute your property
to your chosen beneficiaries when you pass away. We tend to think of
property as tangible – even shares are represented on paper as
certificates. But in our brave new world, property can take on an even
more ethereal form; namely the endless procession of zeroes and ones
that makes up binary code. Welcome to the 21st century, and digital
property. Trust an experienced guide like Glenn Duker, lawyer, to help you protect your assets.
This issue made big headlines a couple of years ago
when British paper the Daily Mail reported that Hollywood actor Bruce
Willis was gearing up for a fight with Apple. Willis, the story went,
wanted to bequeath his iTunes music collection to his daughters. But
when he found out Apple’s terms of use prohibited this, he prepared to
mount a legal battle against the company to claim what was rightfully
his.
Though CNN colourfully stated that “Bruce Willis has
vanquished terrorists, basement rapists and the defences of Cybill
Shepherd,but in his three decades in Hollywood he may not have faced as
daunting an opponent as Apple,” the story turned out to be
apocryphal. The issues it raises, however, are not.
Many of us hold quite significant assets – whether
it’s photos, music, books or money – on digital platforms. A lot of us
may not even consider the value of our collections, until we lose our
laptop or smartphone. Online savings accounts, which often have no
“paper trail” at all, can become lost post mortem if no-one but the
account holder knew of their existence.
These days, digital assets can be quite a significant part of a person’s estate. Glenn Duker, solicitor and lawyer, can provide helpful advice on how to keep up with the times and include digital property in your new or updated will.
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