Jesson||Rains   Attorneys at Law
  • Home
  • Attorneys
    • Edward Jesson
    • Kelly Rains Jesson
  • Practice Areas
    • Individual Services >
      • Wills, Power of Attorneys, Advanced Health Care Directives, and Probate Administration
      • Real Estate Deeds and Litigation
      • Landlord-Tenant
      • Insurance Coverage Disputes
    • Business Services >
      • Business Formation and Organization
      • Business Torts & Breach of Contract Litigation
      • Construction Contracts and Litigation
      • Real Estate Deeds and Litigation
      • Landlord-Tenant
      • Insurance Coverage Disputes
  • News & Blog
  • Contact
  • Testimonials
  • Free Resources
    • Business Resources
    • Estate Planning Resources
    • Probate Resources

What happens to my Facebook or Gmail when I die?

9/19/2016

0 Comments

 
If I had to pick one thing that is a “hot topic” right now in the estate planning field is “digital assets.”  Digital assets are anything involving the internet or mobile devices, including family photos on an iPad, e-mail accounts, and social media accounts.  

Did you know that some social media and e-mail providers value and protect privacy so much that they will not allow a family member or executor of an estate to access the deceased person’s social media account or email account?  

The law historically responds much slower than technology grows.  Thirty years after the creation of the “world wide web,” states are starting to pass digital asset laws that treat digital assets like tangible personal property that can be passed on to others or, at the very least, settled and administered by an executor.  North Carolina recently passed one such law.
​

However, it remains to be seen how well social media and email providers respond to the law.  In the meantime, here is what you can do to ensure that you have control over what happens with your social medial and email accounts.  I have picked Facebook and Gmail because they are the largest providers in their respective platforms.  However, almost all social media and email providers have something similar as listed below.

  • Please keep your passwords where your loved one can find them.  Not only for dignity and sentimental purposes, but your loved one may need to access financial accounts to settle your estate.  There are a variety of services that save passwords, or you could do it the old fashioned way by writing down somewhere safe.
  • Choose to delete your Facebook account after death or name a “legacy contact” to handle your account in security settings.  Follow the instructions here:  https://www.facebook.com/help/103897939701143?helpref=faq_content
  • Google has an option where you can name a trustee over your account (again, in security settings).  If your account remains inactive for a certain amount of time, Google will email your trustee and allow your trustee to access your data.  After the trustee has done so, you can select an option to ask Google to delete your accounts. https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546?hl=en
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Subscribe to our newsletter.

    Subscribe

    Author

    Kelly Rains Jesson
    ​Edward A. Jesson

    Categories

    All
    Assumed Business Name
    B-Corps
    Business
    Business Formation
    Business Litigation
    BUY Sell
    BUY-sell
    Civil Procedure
    Collections
    Community
    Construction
    Contracts
    Corporations
    DBA
    Default
    Dissolution
    Elder Law
    Employment
    Estate Planning
    Ethics
    Eviction
    Firearms
    Firearm Trusts
    Guardianship
    Health Care Directive
    Holding Company
    Landlord-Tenant
    Litigation
    Living Will
    LLC
    News
    Operating Agreement
    Power Of Attorney
    Probate
    Retirement
    Transactional
    Trusts
    Wills

    RSS Feed

    View my profile on LinkedIn

      Contact us.

    Submit

    Archives

    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015

Services

For Individuals
​For Businesses

FIRM

Our Attorneys
Location

SUPPORT

Contact
Disclaimer
Jesson & Rains, LLP
5960 Fairview Road #400
Charlotte, NC 28210
(704) 496-2770
information@jessonrainslaw.com

By appointment only.
©Jesson & Rains, LLP  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Attorneys
    • Edward Jesson
    • Kelly Rains Jesson
  • Practice Areas
    • Individual Services >
      • Wills, Power of Attorneys, Advanced Health Care Directives, and Probate Administration
      • Real Estate Deeds and Litigation
      • Landlord-Tenant
      • Insurance Coverage Disputes
    • Business Services >
      • Business Formation and Organization
      • Business Torts & Breach of Contract Litigation
      • Construction Contracts and Litigation
      • Real Estate Deeds and Litigation
      • Landlord-Tenant
      • Insurance Coverage Disputes
  • News & Blog
  • Contact
  • Testimonials
  • Free Resources
    • Business Resources
    • Estate Planning Resources
    • Probate Resources
✕