You will have unread messages when you die

When I was a young mom, I struggled to keep up with email. There was too much going on, and in my scant free time, I didn’t want to delete a ton of emails. Most of it didn’t matter, but there occasionally were important things that I missed, and I felt frustrated and overwhelmed (and, honestly, quite hormonal).

Have you been there?

Helping people navigate losing a loved one helps me more easily navigate my priorities (newborn > email), but life happens. And a lot of life happens online.

Good and bad. Critically important and junk. Secure and Fraudulent.

Most of our lives are stuffed into our digital devices, which, if we’re honest, would translate into a lot of clutter if those digital fragments suddenly turned into physical bits. I have seen the ordinary stacks of mail and mementos that accumulate in a house after a person’s death, and the digital world isn’t so different.

I will have unread messages when I die. So will you.

This can be a frightening realization when you do not look closely at the administration of wrapping up a life like I do every day. It can also be the most empowering motivation to finally CURATE your digital life.

Shifting my mindset around digital assets has been one of the greatest gifts that estate planning has given me in terms of making my life better in the present.

Did I need to subscribe to seven different decluttering newsletters? No, I needed time to implement their helpful tools. I recognized this topic was important to me, expressed gratitude for all of the inspiring people I had connected with online, and then I whittled it down to one voice I wanted to read and let go of the rest.

Learning to let go of what isn’t important is a valuable skill.

The path toward a truly authentic and great life is learning to let go of important things that don’t fit in right now.

What is a Digital Asset?

Exactly what you think it is - everything you do online, from your email account to your photos, documents, social media, financial accounts, cryptocurrency, NFTs, media, gaming accounts, notes, etc.

The current legal standard for defining a digital asset is anything digital with value and ownership that is discoverable.

“That is discoverable” is especially important in estate planning because your loved ones won’t know what they are looking for unless you provide a map and instructions. Without guidance, they are left searching for that first baby photo or retirement account information in a code haystack.

Only you know what has value to you and your loved ones, so securing and prioritizing those important digital assets is an incredible gift for living your best life now and showing your care once you are gone.

Please contact us to discuss ideas about your digital legacy.