“People are storing important documents, such as wills and medical directives, online. While convenient, there are a few things to keep in mind before you open another online account, experts say.”
There are some clear benefits to storing your will and documents online. You and your spouse (or other authorized people) can access them anytime, from anywhere. We are used to putting our lives online. However, there are also some downsides to consider before doing so, according to a helpful article from CNBC titled “Here’s what you need to know before storing your will online.”
It’s good to have all your important documents in one place. Make sure that the people who will need access, such as executors, know that you’ve done so or the cloud storage may well be pointless.
Online storage can also facilitate family conversations about estate planning. Even tech savvy adult children who scoff at parents who don’t engage in social media, will be impressed by a decision to go digital.
However, there are pitfalls.
The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act allows those who are appointed as fiduciaries to access some digital assets in the 45 states (and D.C.) where the law is in place, according to the Uniform Law Commission. ULC is a state-supported organization that brings uniform laws to different jurisdictions.
However, unless you give full access to your digital accounts to your attorney or executors, they will not have the right to open these accounts. They might be able to go online to bank accounts but not to your social media accounts or any portals containing important documents.
You need to give an executor access. That means more than your password, log in information and answers to security questions. They will also need a legal document granting them access to the accounts.
Check with your estate planning attorney to learn your state’s requirements. Whether or not your estate planning documents are in the cloud, you probably have digital assets. Make sure your will is updated.
Resource: CNBC (July 26, 2018) “Here’s what you need to know before storing your will online”
“人們在網上存儲重要文件，如遺囑和醫療指令。雖然方便但專家說，在開設另一個在線賬戶之前，有一些事情要記住。”
網上存儲您的遺囑和文件有一些明顯的好處。你和你的配偶（或其他獲授權人員）可以隨時隨地看到它們。我們習慣於把自己的生活放在網上。但是，在這樣做之前還有一些缺點需要考慮，根據CNBC的一篇文章 “Here’s what you need to know before storing your will online.” (這是您在網上存儲遺囑之前需要了解的內容)
將所有重要文件放在一個地方是件好事。但是確保需要取用的人員，例如遺囑或信托執行人，要知道您已經這樣做了，否則存儲在網上可能會毫無意義。
網上存儲還可以促進有關資產規劃的家庭對話。即使是那些嘲笑父母不會參與社交媒體的成年子女，也會對網上存儲的決定感到佩服。
但是，有陷阱。
根據統一法律委員會(The Uniform Law Commission)的規定，修訂後的統一信託獲取數據資產法案(The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Acess to Digital Assets Act)允許被指定為受託人的人獲得法律所在的45個州（和D.C.）的一些數據資產。ULC是一個由國家支持的組織，為不同的司法管轄區提供統一的法律。
但是，除非你給於你的律師或遺囑執行人有權取得您的數據帳戶，否則他們無權打開這些帳戶。他們可能可以看到網上銀行帳戶，但不能進入您的社交媒體帳戶或包含重要文檔的任何網站。
您需要授予執行者進入權限。這意味著不僅僅是您的密碼，登錄信息和安全問題的答案。他們還需要一份法律文件，授予他們取得帳戶的權限。
請諮詢您的資產規劃律師，了解您所在州的要求。無論您的資產規劃文件是否在網中，您都可能擁有數據資產。確保您的意願是最新。
參考: CNBC (July 26, 2018) “Here’s what you need to know before storing your will online”