Death and Your Digital Legacy

February 15, 2014

Western Business Education AssociationOregon Business Education Association

Jim Birken

Jim Birken

• Gift Planning Manager, Linn-Benton Community College, Albany, OR

• Director of Gift Planning, Retired from Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR,

• Director of Finance, WOU Foundation

• Master’s Degree in Public Administration, USC

• Past President, Northwest Planned Giving Roundtable

• Not an attorney, no legal advice is provided, please consult your own professional advisor

Gift Planning

• More complicated gifts

• Wills, Charitable Trusts, Estates, Charitable Gift Annuities

• Life Income Plans which provide cash to the donor(s) for life and then benefit the charity.

• Wills are most important tool for gift planning and asset management.

• Can use Living Trust in addition to Will

Your Will

• Provides instructions for your personal representative• Directs disposition of valued assets

• To Heirs and Devisees• To Charities

• New problem, what about non-physical, non-monetary assets?

• Digital assets on your computer and in the “Cloud”

Digital assets

• All of your files on your computer, tablet, and/or phone

• Soft assets such as Facebook postings, email, or pictures on your computer

• Real dollar value assets stored elsewhere• Online banking• PayPal• Amazon• Bitcoins

Assets in the “Cloud”

• Email at Google, Yahoo, etc.

• Pictures on Picasa, Shutterfly,• Instagram, or Flickr

• Amazon

• Audible recorded books

• Kindle books

• Who can access these?

Social Media

• Two issues:• Accessing information you wish to preserve• Deleting information that is harmful or no longer

useful

• Face Book• Google• On-line bank accounts• Web Sites

Web Sites

• Sites that you own are personal property and may be willed to another and are transferred in your estate

• Problems• Should the website shut down, or remain

active?• Who has the user name and password?• What is it? Is it a license instead of ownership?• Complicated end-user agreements

Account Access

• Can anyone else but you legally get into your files?

• May depend on the user agreement with the provider

• May depend on applicable federal law1. 18 USC Ch. 121: STORED WIRE AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSACTIONAL

RECORDS ACCESS

2. COMPUTER FRAUD AND ABUSE ACT

• State laws are not keeping up with current situation• Oregon’s bill SB54 failed in last legislative session• Uniform code is being propose for all states

• May need new federal law to over-ride conflicts

Account PasswordS

Password Managers

• Needed for my aging brain

• Primarily a database of sites, usernames and passwords

• Generates secure passwords

• Lets you keep information private during your lifetime and then provide access for your personal representative when needed.

• Such access may not be proper

Password Managers

• One Password

• Memengo

• Last Pass

• Dashlane

Pitfalls for Personal representatives

• Passwords and user ID’s

• Encryption

• Federal and State Laws regarding “unauthorized” access to data

• Federal and State laws regarding privacy

handouts

• Suggested Password Manager programs

• Resources for more information

• Google Executor’s form

• Genealogical Will