Living Well 60+ September – October 2015 | Page 31

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015 31 DIGITAL continued from Page 8 • bill payment accounts (bank, PayPal, utilities) and asset account login management. Some providers are starting to help users plan their digital afterlife. Yahoo! says in its terms of service, “Any rights to your Yahoo! ID or contents within your account terminate upon your death.” Accounts may be deleted if a death certificate is submitted. Google introduced a new feature allowing users to specify that after a certain period of inactivity, their account data should be deleted or passed along to specific individuals. At Facebook, relatives may be able to request the contents of the account – a lengthy process involving a court order – or ask that the page be deleted. The first step for seniors beginning to consider digital estate planning is to recognize the obstacles they face. Restrictions from service providers pose a challenge for heirs who want to access your e-mail account to retrieve bills, for example. And if you think no one will be the wiser if you just log on to your deceased loved one’s account and make those changes, think again. In most states, it’s illegal. And even knowing exactly which “cloud” your information may be floating on is a stumper. Sometimes music and books may be passed on, sometimes not. Items downloaded from Google Play, for example, end at the user’s death. But Apple’s iTunes store has removed anti-copying restrictions on songs sold to users. At Kindle, too, family members with user ID information for the account can access the digital content. Cottage industries of online data-management companies have sprung up around this issue. Password Box and Legacy Locker joined forces to organize online accounts on a day-to-day basis and then provide that same continuum to your online executor. Online storage company DSwiss launched SecureSafe in 2009. It has already signed up more than 300,000 individuals and is adding roughly 10,000 new customers a week, the company says. But legal experts say such services don’t resolve potential conflicts with online providers’ terms of service, state or federal laws. The bottom line is, a new estate planning niche has been created. Start collecting your digital assets and recording your passwords, user IDs and security answers. Decide who is tech savvy enough to be your digital executor. Specify your digital executor in your will or power of attorney, but don’t put specifics in the will because it will become public record once processed. CASA continued from Page 10 sponsors several fund-raising events each year, including the SuperHero 5K in September. CASA’s Bourbon Chase Relay Marathon in October always sells out, Jamison said. To participate, a team must raise $7,000. For more information, contact her at [email protected]. Anoth