Many young adults are under the impression that estate planning is not a process that is yet relevant to them. This is due, in large part, to the fact that estate planning is primarily portrayed in popular culture as a matter of creating wills and trusts to leave their assets to others after they pass away. When most adults are still young, they may not have acquired enough property to feel that detailing their assets would be a beneficial use of their time, even if they were to die unexpectedly.
There are two pressing reasons why even very young adults need to engage in estate planning sooner rather than later. First, drafting advance medical directives and naming powers of attorney will help to safeguard your interests in the event of an accident or illness that is so severe that you become incapacitated and unable to advocate for yourself. The second involves drafting a digital estate plan.
What is digital estate planning?
Digital estate planning allows an individual to articulate how they want their digital assets and broader digital footprint to be managed in the even of incapacitation or death. This process is particularly relevant for young people because – unlike older generations – they grew up handling most major financial and communication-based transactions online.
Before a young person’s incapacitation or death, they need to take time to figure out how they’d like their password-protected accounts to be managed if/when these events come to pass. They need to consider who they want to access their digital assets, whether their accounts should be closed or maintained and who should inherit certain digital assets.
These are weighty and consequential issues to be sure. Thankfully, young people who engage in digital estate planning can seek legal guidance at any time.