When I was reporter for The Atlanta Constitution, my colleagues and I had deep respect for those who wrote obituaries, stories on how a life had been lived. As an attorney handling estate matters, both planning and administration, I know writing an obit is a solemn and often sad task. As this article describes, many […]
Estate Planning
Who Cares for Your Digital Life and Afterlife?
What happens with your digital life when you die or if you are in a coma? The Washington Post interviewed me in a piece that highlighted Delaware’s new law that grants access to digital property owned by someone who is incapacitated or has died. As I told the reporter, in my practice I regularly see […]
E-Z Legal Form Not so Easy with Court Fight Over Will
Ann Aldrich probably thought she was doing well when she signed a will that left a list of her assets to her sister and if her sister didn’t survive then to her brother James. However, the will she signed in 2004, an “E-Z Legal Form,” was not drafted for her by a lawyer. Certainly unintended, […]
Checking Out Your Doctor
Frequently I am contacted because a prospective client is facing a pending medical procedure and wants to have a medical agent nominated and other estate planning issues addressed. As you consider a medical procedure, what do you really KNOW about your doctor other than she seems to make sense or he took his time in […]
Digital Property Inventory
Have you made an inventory of your digital property? Or will your loved ones be left to search for your things? How will they gain access? These are important questions as I discussed with a reporter for the Fairfax Times and the Gazette.
Digital Property & How to Get Rid of It
I’ve written lately about the importance of planning for your digital property in case of your incapacity or death. I’ve also encouraged you to make an inventory of digital property so the person caring for you or managing your estate knows what you have, where it is, and how to access it. Now my digital […]
Digital Property
If you are reading this, you are likely the owner of digital property. Digital property is very broad – e-mail, texts, social media posts, online accounts, videos, passwords and IDs to access sites, your data on shopping, financial and other sites, electronic documents, online backups, photo collections, and more. In this article, I and my […]
What happens to my Google Accounts when I die or if I can’t access them?
Ask and it will be given to you, says the Bible. Users must have asked enough as Google has provided an answer. Now you can decide how your Google Accounts are to be handled if you’ve left them inactive for any reason. Maybe you no longer use Picasa to store your photos. Or perhaps you’ve […]
New Year, Fresh Start
The beginning of a new year is a time when many of us make a fresh start. As you start to pull things together for your tax return preparation, it is a good time to look at your financial record keeping. Were you organized last year in ways that made things simpler for you? If […]
