Can you include digital assets in your will?

There is no set definition of a digital asset, but examples include the following:

• NFTs
• E-books
• Photos or videos saved on a device
• Social media accounts
• Online banking domains
• Cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin)
• Email accounts
• Digital intellectual property

Like with physical assets, you can include your digital assets in your will. If your digital assets are not included in your will, they will pass to your residuary beneficiary under your will or via the intestacy rules.

It is important to note that if you left a physical asset, for example, your iPad, to someone in your will, this would not include the digital media stored on that device (for example, pictures and videos). These digital assets would instead pass to your residuary beneficiary or under the intestacy rules depending on the circumstances.

While some digital assets can have high monetary values, such as NFTs, PayPal accounts, or cryptocurrencies, other digital assets can hold great sentimental value. Therefore, it is crucially important to be very specific in your will to ensure that your physical and digital assets are distributed according to your wishes.

Digital assets with a monetary value may form part of your estate on death and must be disclosed to HMRC for inheritance tax purposes.

The laws surrounding digital assets can often be unclear, and it is often the case that some online accounts are regulated by legislation in different countries. Certain digital assets, such as an Apple ID profile and other social media accounts, have their own terms and conditions outlining what happens to your account on death and whether your representatives can access the information stored. For example, Facebook enables users to nominate a ‘legacy contact’. It is advisable to familiarise oneself with the terms and conditions attached to the various services one uses to store digital assets. Understanding these terms and conditions will help you know which digital assets can be left in your will and which are subject to separate rules. Our wills team can help you navigate terms and conditions when writing your will.

In the past, many people would wait until they were married or until they owned a house to make a will. However, as more young people are obtaining digital assets, often with large financial values, there may be a rise in the number of people creating wills at an earlier age.

Top tips to safeguard your digital assets: 

1. Keep a clear record of your passwords and login details to your digital assets. This will allow any personal representatives of your estate to access and administer your accounts. Ensure you do not record this sensitive information in your will, as wills can become public documents. Instead, having them on a separate document that your representatives can access would be best.
2. Be as specific as possible when instructing your solicitor to draft your will. You can include provisions detailing precisely what you would like to happen to your digital assets, such as instructing your executors to close your email account permanently or deleting photos and videos before the physical asset is transferred to the beneficiary.
3. Be aware of which digital assets you own have their own policies on what will happen to the asset after death. This will allow you to be clear on whom you want to inherit your digital assets and will not leave you in a position where you think you are gifting an asset to someone in your will when you only had a licence to use that asset while you were alive. This can occur when dealing with assets such as music and audiobooks.

Drafting a comprehensive will can be complex, and ensuring that your will contains the necessary provisions to safeguard your intentions is essential. Our private client department is skilled in drafting simple and complex wills and can offer you tailored advice to create a will specific to your needs and wishes.

Contact SO Legal today.

If you haven’t made a will yet, you are not alone. Over half of adults in the United Kingdom are yet to prepare a will. A well-drafted will helps protect your family and loved ones after you die and ensures your estate is dealt with in the exact manner you wish it to be.

Whether you are making a will for the first time or updating an existing one, our will solicitors will take the time to get to know you personally before providing tailored solutions to meet your specific needs.

With offices in Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, London, Uckfield, and Ulverston, we are pleased to be able to work with clients across the country.