When you prepare your estate plan, you will immediately
think of the “big” items, what will happen to your assets, your house, who will
take care of your young children and many other items that we have planned for
years. But what about the new digital world we live in? What happens to your
online profiles, your blog, your YouTube account?
To answer this question, Facebook is now allowing you to
choose a “legacy contact” to manage your account after you have passed away. In
addition, you are able to direct that your Facebook presence is deleted
entirely after you pass away.
In the past decade, more people have begun to add their
digital assets to their estate plans, adding provisions for online passwords
and other access points after they are gone. It is good to see that Facebook is
joining that movement and adding this feature.
For a more complete discussion of the new features, check
out this Wall Street Journal Article.