Estates consist of any assets directly owned by an individual at the time of their death. They often need to pass through probate court before the executor or personal representative makes all final distributions to beneficiaries or heirs.
Historically, estates have largely consisted of financial resources, personal property and real property. However, the increasingly electronic economy in the United States has resulted in an explosion in digital resources. There are now electronic or digital assets to address in an estate plan, and many people do not take that key step.
There may then be disputes about digital resources during estate administration. Understanding what assets can trigger those disputes can help family members and beneficiaries better navigate the probate process.
What digital assets commonly trigger probate battles?
Those looking to diversify their financial holdings may acquire private equity interests in developing technology businesses. They may invest in tokenized private equity, without acquiring traditional stock. They may have purchased cryptocurrency or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) related to real estate.
These resources can be difficult to identify and challenging to transfer if the decedent did not leave clear instructions about these digital resources. Probate battles may erupt when a person dies with a sizable Bitcoin wallet and no instructions regarding who should receive those holdings.
Data access can also be a source of conflict during the probate process. People now live their lives online and use digital resources for storage. Family members may fight over whether to memorialize or continue popular social media accounts.
There may be disputes about who has the right to access digital document storage, such as photographs and historical family records stored online. These digital resources may represent both financial and emotional value for those who survive the original owner. Without clear instructions in an estate plan, litigation may be the only way to address digital assets and valuable data.
Identifying digital assets, reviewing an estate plan and determining what options there may be for addressing these resources during the probate process may require the insight of a South Dakota probate attorney familiar with large, complex estates. Those concerned about digital resources during estate administration or already embroiled in a dispute related to them may need assistance preparing for what could be a challenging legal process ahead, and that’s okay.