As a general rule, digital assets that are wholly owned can be transmitted through a will. The key is to confirm that the asset in question is transferable, as some digital assets may specify against you. You should also consider who you would like to inherit your digital assets to whenever possible. You must specify who you want to inherit these assets, since if no decision is made, they will become part of your residual assets.
If there are multiple residual beneficiaries, it may be difficult to divide digital assets. When someone dies, their executors have a legal obligation to collect and account for the deceased's assets. Most older people who die today will never have held digital assets. However, it is estimated that around 5 million people in the UK now own some type of crypto asset, and the owners are mainly the younger generations.
When you die, you can only access cryptoassets if you have the digital keys. The possibility that executors are unaware of the possession of these assets and, in fact, never find them is very real. In the case of deceased estate beneficiaries, they could lose large sums of money, without the executors committing any intentional crime. Your digital assets may have financial and sentimental value and, unfortunately, unless you take steps to record the details of these assets and how to access them, your public relations can manage your wealth without having knowledge of their existence.
Future generations will then be able to better understand the digital landscape of this society. The digital nature of assets does not alter the fact that they are part of your wealth and may have a monetary value for tax purposes. The best thing you can do to help you is to keep track of your digital assets with a record that details what they are and how they can be accessed. This will make the work of your executor less difficult, especially if your digital assets are of great value and you have a tax obligation for inheritances.
Here are some practical steps you can consider to prevent your digital assets from being lost or inaccessible. If you have a will, your executor is responsible for managing all your assets, including digital assets. The media in which a digital heritage resides may be the sole property of the deceased person or be under the control of their own service provider. A beneficiary can inherit any digital asset that belongs to them in its entirety and that is transferable, but they don't necessarily own what they think they are It belongs.
At present, there are no legal regulations of general application in the field of digital succession in most legal systems. Digital assets can be treated like any other property, and you should take steps to include a reference to them in your will and power of attorney. If digital assets are managed personally, it is important that the executor has the necessary information to access them, since they will not have to go to an external company to obtain this information. Digital media can be physically owned, such as those stored on personal computers, hard drives or optical disks, in which case the digital content exists in a format that can be easily bequeathed and transmitted to heirs.
HMRC considers blockchain tokens, whether cryptocurrencies or non-fungible tokens, such as digital works of art, to be intangible assets that HMRC confirms can be held as taxable investments. Therefore, if you so choose, it is essential to have a power of attorney that gives your attorneys access and authority to manage your digital assets, accounts and subscriptions.
