Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Google Lets Users Plan ‘Digital Afterlife’ By Naming Heirs

Excerpt from: Wall Street Journal (click for full article)

 

Google on Wednesday became one of the first major Internet companies to put control of data after death directly into the hands of its users.

The Internet giant unveiled a dashboard for users of its Gmail, Google+, cloud storage Drive, Picasa albums, YouTube and other services that lets people identify what they’d like to happen to their data after they pass away or become inactive for an extended period of time. You can choose to delete some or all of the data after three, six, nine or 12 months of inactivity, or pass data from the accounts along to one or more other people.

Call them your Google heirs. Google, for the record, calls the offering its “Inactive Account Manager.”

What is your Digital Legacy? (Presentation by Patricia Dudek)

Have you ever wondered what will happen to your Facebook account or other digital assets if you become disabled or when you die? Are there some personal profiles or digital profiles to which you want to LIMIT access?? Then, this presentation and materials are for you.

 

Download Estate Planning in the Digital Age

Charity Game Saturday to Support Local Organization

Excerpt from: UCP of Metro Detroit (click for more information)

Download UCP flyer

 

Saturday, March 30th Viking Arena, Hazel Park (view map)

All proceeds from this charity event will be used to assist people with disabilities and their families. UCP/ Detroit is a local non-profit advocacy organization representing the needs of all people with disabilities and their families in the Metropolitan Detroit and the Tri-County areas. Eighty-Five percent of every dollar raised from UCP special events is used for programs and services that benefit directly the people we serve.

The Detroit Red Wing Alumni Association, which is the oldest such organization in the NHL, now plays around 30 games a year to the benefit of worthy charities. This group uses their status as former NHL players to bring people together for a common goal...to raise spirits and raise money for some wonderful organizations. The alumni roster includes such names as John Ogrodnick, Jimmy Carson, Craig Wolanan, Lee Norwood, Dennis Hextall, Brent Fedyk, Pat Peake and fan favorite, Mickey Redmond. Together we have raised over $175,000 over the past 12 years for the disabled community.

Contact Leslynn Angel at (248) 557-5070 ext 154 or email
[email protected] for more information.

PBS NewsHour: Law Lags in Defining Posthumous Protocol for Online Accounts

Excerpt from: The Digital Beyond (click for full article)

 

 

Calls grow for clarity on who gets 'digital assets'

Excerpt from: Omaha.com (click for full article)

 

A grieving Oregon mother who battled Facebook for full access to her deceased son's account has been pushing for years for something that would prevent others from losing photos, messages and other memories — as she did.

“Everybody's going to face this kind of a situation at some point in their lives,” says Karen Williams, whose 22-year-old son, Loren, died in a 2005 motorcycle accident.

The Oregon Legislature took up the cause recently with a proposal that would have made it easier for loved ones to access the “digital assets” of the deceased, only to be turned back by pressure from the tech industry. The industry argued that both a 1986 federal law and voluntary terms of service agreements prohibit companies from sharing a person's information — even if such a request were included in a last will and testament.

Facebook digital assets hard to reach from beyond the grave

Excerpt from: CBC News (click for full article)

 

Williams inspired the Oregon Legislature to propose a change in the laws, but it was swatted down by the tech industry, which drew upon the old federal law from 1986 in its defense.

Currently, five states have varying degrees of digital asset laws in place -- Connecticut, Indiana, Idaho, Oklahoma and Rhode Island -- but none exist in Oregon.

Many experts predict that the problem with grow and persist until some type of legislation is in place to determine how your virtual wishes are to be handled.

Tangle of laws leaves digital assets of the deceased out of reach

Excerpt from: Katu.com (click for full article)

 

The Oregon Legislature responded and took up the cause recently with a proposal that would have made it easier for loved ones to access the "digital assets" of the deceased, only to be turned back by pressure from the tech industry, which argued that both a 1986 federal law and voluntary terms of service agreements prohibit companies from sharing a person's information — even if such a request were included in a last will and testament.

Lobbyists agree the Stored Communications Act is woefully out of date but say that until it's changed, laws passed at the state level could be unconstitutional.

"Everybody wants to do the right thing, but the hard legal reality is the federal communications act," said Jim Hawley, a vice president at TechNet, an industry group that represents companies such as Google and Microsoft.

Oregon lawmakers moved ahead anyway with a proposal that would have given "digital assets" — everything from photos and messages stored online to intellectual property and banking information — the same treatment as material property for estate purposes.

Virginia Passes Digital Assets Law

Excerpt from: The Digital Beyond (click for full article)

 

Adding to the list of states that have passed laws pertaining to digital estates, the Virginia Legislature passed HB 1752 today affording parents of deceased minors access to their social media accounts.

While this law is only limited to minors, it represents a growing trend amongst consumers to take more control of their data. HB 1752 is a testament to the work of Ricky Rash, who took up the issue after his son Eric took his own life without any explanation. Rash hopes that Eric’s Facebook account will hold the some answers for him.

Rash told NBC 29, ”When you’re searching for answers and you’re hurting and you’re grieving, you need access, and you need some level of comfort that you’ve done everything you can to honor your loved one’s life.”

HB 1752 now goes to the governor’s desk for signature.

Estate plans must take digital assets into account

Excerpt from: Los Angeles Legal Authority (click for full article)

 

Today, when a person dies, he or she may own much in the way of property that is far different from physical property such as real estate or vehicles, or even cash, stocks or bonds. Estate planning for people in California and nationwide increasingly must make provisions for digital assets. Digital assets can include social media accounts such as Facebook or Twitter, and may also include a website or blog that the person used, possibly in ways that generated a stream of income.

Digital assets can include files stored on local computers or on remote servers. They can also include email accounts, including an accumulated storage of past emails that contain valuable information. Digital files stored can include photographs, videos, sound files, e-books, software licenses, file sharing accounts and memberships in affiliate programs that earn either cash or other things of value, such as discounts or merchandise.

Estate Planning and Administration in the Digital Age

Excerpt from: The Legal Intelligencer (click for full article)

 

The term "digital assets" refers to assets and information stored or accessed online or as a file on a computer or mobile device. Some digital assets have monetary value, while others have personal or sentimental value. The digital asset realm includes not just bank and brokerage accounts, but also email accounts, blogs, Facebook pages, Tumblr accounts, photograph, book and music libraries — the list goes on with new additions all the time.

We spend a significant amount of time using the Internet to manage and enhance our lives. We rely on computers and mobile devices to keep us organized and connected. However, many of us give little thought to what happens to our digital assets upon our incapacity or death. In this digital age, making provisions for the protection and administration of those assets is an integral part of a complete estate plan.