The Importance of Digital Assets in Power of Attorney

The Importance of Digital Assets in Power of Attorney Technology, its advent, and progression have influenced every element of our life. Right from businesses to our monetary transactions, it has deeply impacted everything around us. The paper money used conventionally has now been replaced by electronic money, and payments have become online.

Nowadays, we pay every bill and do bank transactions online. Besides, we also communicate online.

Most of our communication, except for face to face one, is done online in the form of social media messages, or through SMS. In short, we don’t really deal with papers, and therefore most of the records have now gone online. Of course, in the view that the online revolution is only going to strengthen in the years to come, it is necessary that include digital assets in the power of attorney to cover any unfortunate event that might take place with us. This article talks about the digital power of attorney, or the importance of including digital assets in the power of attorney.

Why Have a Digital Power of Attorney?

Pretty much in line with what we’ve specified in preceding paragraph, since most of us have moved from conventional transactions to the online ones, in an unfortunate event, the conventional digital power of attorney will not take the digital transactions into account, thereby restricting the role of the agent, or disallowing him under the conventional power of attorney to gain access to the bank statements and accounts of the deceased. In this view, it is important to have the power of attorney documents clearly stating to include the language, which clearly permits the agent to access the bank accounts and statements of the individual. Similarly, with family members, even if any of the family members know the bank credentials, the terms of service and the rules and regulations governing the conventional power of attorney will prohibit unauthorized access to accounts, thus resulting in a lot of serious financial implications.

The Concept of Durable Power of Attorney It is important for an individual to clearly authorize the designated individual to access all the online accounts. This will help the designated person to carry out transactions, and pay the bill on behalf of the deceased individual. This is important from the viewpoint of avoiding inconveniences and hassles later on.

Last Will and Testament Prepare a document clearly stating that after you, the will executor will have access to your online documents, bank accounts, statements, etc. in capacity equal to that of you. This permission will not just include digitally accessed bill pay and banking site, but also include life insurance documents, financial assets, and all the investment accounts as well. Besides, using a password manager to facilitate the password to your executor, and the digital power of attorney will facilitate access to the entire set of your online accounts.

What are the Risks of not including Digital Assets in your Estate Planning Documents?

If you don’t include digital assets in your estate planning documents, you can encounter the following risks.

Your estate will lose assets in an undiscovered financial account.

Bills will go into default and encourage collectors to file claims against your estate.

Besides, your online bank accounts might run into problems. For instance, they may be hacked, and people after you will never be able to recover or find the missing money.

EEPOA – Your Digital POA Partner Ethiopian Power of Attorney (E-POA) services offered by EEPOA are a crucial link between the Ethiopian diaspora and mainland Ethiopia. Ethiopian Embassy Consular helps with a power of attorney or proxy for anyone who intends to open up a business, retire, deal with a medical emergency, settle family affairs, or make an investment in Ethiopia.