Description
Book SynopsisThis book is an ideal companion for the busy probate practitioner who needs a better understanding of digital assets when advising clients, drafting wills, or administering estates. It provides the practitioner with draft clauses, precedents and a sample digital assets questionnaire for clients. It contains a useful glossary of relevant terms .
Trade Review'…very much a practical book, guiding the practitioner on what issues to consider and offering pragmatic solutions A valuable addition to any will-writer’s and probate practitioner’s library…' From review in Law Society Gazette
Table of ContentsPART 1- GLOSSARY PART 2 -GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 1 DEFINING DIGITAL ASSETS 1.1 What are digital assets (financial and non-financial)? 1.2 What are quasi-digital assets? 1.3 Digital pathways – defining the lines 1.4 Summary – digital assets and quasi-digital assets 1.5 Commonly held digital assets 1.6 Commonly held quasi-digital assets PART 3 - PRE-DEATH ISSUES 2 CONSIDERATIONS WHEN ADVISING THE TESTATOR 2.1 Memorandum of wishes, also known as a letter of wishes 2.2 Amazon – considerations to be made by account holders in advance 2.3 Google 2.4 Creating a letter of wishes with digital assets, particularly social media, in mind 2.5 Advising the client in relation to social media 2.6 What are the social media options? 2.7 Pre-death considerations for crypto-currencies 3 A CLIENT QUESTIONNAIRE – WHAT ONE MIGHT LOOK LIKE AND HOW TO USE IT 3.1 The introduction 3.2 How to format the client questionnaire 3.3 Which categories to include in the client questionnaire? 3.4 Documents (such as PowerPoint presentations, Word and PDF documents, and spreadsheets) 4 DRAFTING MATTERS AND SAMPLE WILL CLAUSES 4.1 Draft clauses for last will and testament 4.2 Appointing a digital executor or digital manager 4.3 Instructions from beyond the grave 4.4 Draft clauses to dispose of digital rights and interests 4.5 Powers of attorney 4.6 Memorandum of wishes, also known as a letter of wishes 4.7 Letter of wishes and social media 5 STRATEGIES FOR DIGITAL MATTERS ON DEATH – CONSIDERING RISKS AND MITIGATION 5.1 The inactive approach to digital assets (aka doing nothing) 5.2 The active approach to digital assets (aka doing something) 5.3 Personal representatives’ and/or executors’ and trustees’ role 6 ADVISING THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES AND/OR EXECUTORS AND/OR BENEFICIARIES 6.1 Distribution matters – non-financial issues 6.2 The role of the digital executor or digital manager 6.3 Is a digital manager necessary? 6.4 Secure, capture, electronically scrub and cleanse devices and hard drives 6.5 Rights associated with files such as digital photographs and personal videos 6.6 What to do with files such as digital photographs and personal videos 6.7 Digital documents – What are they and what to do with them? 6.8 Digital legal documents 6.9 Dealing with blogs 6.10 Distribution matters – financial issues 6.11 Online bank accounts, etc 6.12 National Savings and Investments Accounts (Premium Bonds, etc) 6.13 Gambling and Lottery accounts 6.14 Online gaming accounts 6.15 Online trading, buying or selling accounts 7 SECURING THE PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF THE DIGITAL ESTATE 7.1 Securing hardware and devices 7.2 Information capture, cleansing and storage PART 4 -POST-DEATH ISSUES 8 DEALING WITH FINANCIAL QUASI-DIGITAL ASSETS POST-DEATH 8.1 Dealing with online bank and financial institution accounts 8.2 Strategies for tracing online financial assets 8.3 Looking for the digital footprint behaviour pattern 8.4 Security concerns and how to handle them 9 AN INTRODUCTION TO CRYPTO-CURRENCIES 9.1 What is crypto-currency? 9.2 What is crypto-currency used for? 9.3 How is crypto-currency stored? 9.4 How does crypto-currency work? 9.5 Crypto-currency – altcoins and stable coins 9.6 Facebook and crypto-currency 10 DEALING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA 10.1 Why is it important to understand the options and act accordingly? 10.2 Deleting social media accounts 10.3 Maintaining or retaining the deceased data in social media accounts 10.4 Instagram 10.5 Pinterest 10.6 Facebook (including Facebook Messenger) 10.7 LinkedIn 10.8 Snapchat 10.9 WhatsApp 10.10 Twitter 10.11 Dating websites 11 MITIGATING THE RISKS TO THE SOLICITOR AND/OR LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES 12 THE PROFESSIONAL EXECUTOR AND LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE AND VALUING THE DIGITAL ESTATE 12.1 Account balances 12.2 Vintage devices 12.3 Hardware devices 12.4 Valuing crypto-currencies and non-fungible tokens 12.5 How to account for digital assets when completing form IHT400 13 CRYPTO-CURRENCIES – TAXING MATTERS 13.1 Value Added Tax 13.2 Income tax 13.3 Capital gains tax 13.4 Inheritance tax 13.5 Valuing crypto-currencies for tax purposes 13.6 Pooling and the importance of fungibility APPENDICES A1 Useful Draft Clauses when Dealing with or Appointing a Digital Executor or Digital Administrator A2 An Example of a Client Questionnaire A3 An Example of a Letter of Wishes
