Digital Assets and what happens to them after you die is still very much a hot topic and one that is not straightforward.
Last year, Estatesearch launched their latest technical webinar series, “What Happens to Digital Assets When You Die”, which initially featured two 30-minute sessions designed to help practitioners understand some of the practical and ethical considerations around digital assets when applied to Estate Administration. The series has so far covered Property Rights, the recent Law Commission proposal and cloud contracts.
Over the next couple of months, Estatesearch will continue to look at the topic in further detail with the help of industry experts.
Upcoming webinars in the series:
Wednesday February 22nd at 11am
Digital Assets & Post-mortem Privacy – What are the implications for the legal profession?
In part three, Estatesearch invite Dr Edina Harbinja, Senior Lecturer in Media/Privacy Law at Aston Law School to share her expertise on post-mortem privacy and what it means for the legal profession.
This session will cover
- What is post-mortem privacy, and how does it affect the transmission of digital estate/digital remains?
- Does the law protect post-mortem privacy, and if so, where and how?
- What are some of the key upcoming law reforms that may embrace this concept?
- What are the main practical implications of post-mortem privacy for the legal profession, the industry and clients?
Meet the speaker:
Dr Edina Harbinja is a Senior Lecturer in Media/Privacy Law. Her principal areas of research and teaching are related to the legal issues surrounding the Internet and emerging technologies. Edina is a pioneer and a recognised expert in post-mortem privacy, i.e. privacy of the deceased individuals.
She has published widely on aspects of internet law and regulation and has been a visiting scholar and an invited speaker to universities and conferences in the USA, Latin America, and Europe. Find out more.
Wednesday 8th March – 11am
Digital Asset Planning – Wills, LPAs and Trusts
Research by STEP in 2021* revealed that nearly 60% of estate practitioners had dealt with questions from clients about digital assets. Of those, almost half had been asked for advice on estate planning and a third had been asked about transferring digital assets after death.
In part four, Jack Burroughs TEP and Private Client and Taxation Advisor will explore the practicalities of digital estate planning and succession.
We will cover:
- Compiling a digital assets inventory
- Dealing with digital assets in Wills
- LPAs/incapacity and digital assets
- Planning succession for cryptoassets
- Trusts and cryptoassets
*https://www.step.org/research-reports/digital-assets-call-action
Meet the speaker
Jack works in the tax team at the CLA, advising members in relation to their tax queries (primarily inheritance tax and capital gains tax), succession planning, and various private client issues such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney, probate, and digital assets.
A recipient of a STEP Worldwide Excellence Award and a member of the Steering Committee of the STEP Digital Assets Special Interest Group, Jack is the co-author of the second edition of The Digital Estate, a textbook examining the law of England and Wales on digital assets from a private client perspective.
This article was submitted to be published by Estatesearch as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Wills and Probate. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Wills and Probate.
