What is inheritance?
Let’s take a step back and talk about the concept of asset inheritance in general. Simply put, this is the process of a beneficiary (a person or a group of people) receiving ownership of assets that belonged to another person (the benefactor) upon the latter passing away. This is usually governed by a set of laws that account for multiple scenarios.
- If the asset holder has explicitly named beneficiaries, it is clear who will inherit the assets.
- If a person hasn’t appointed beneficiaries, the estate ‘defaults’ to people in certain relationships (spouse, children, siblings, parents, etc.). In this instance, that person’s loved ones will inherit the estate according to the law of succession.
- If there is no one to inherit the assets (whether by default or explicitly named), the state determines what happens to them.
The default case is what happens in most instances, but there’s a caveat: what if not all the assets of the benefactor are listed or known? What if the people who are supposed to inherit are not initially aware (or made aware by an authority) of the benefactor’s possessions?
Out of all those scenarios, the obvious choice, with the fewest complications, is explicitly naming whom you’d like to inherit your assets. That way, your loved ones aren’t additionally burdened with bureaucratic investigations, especially during such difficult times.
What is digital inheritance?
The aforementioned inheritance scenarios haven’t changed much over time. The basic principles that govern those aspects of life come primarily from ancient Roman law. Unlike the legal aspect however, the material side of it has evolved quite a lot, especially in recent times. While just a century ago only the lucky few had insurance policies, bank accounts, realty and such, nowadays many people have those types of assets and much, much more. We rarely give a thought to just how many assets we have:
- Real estate
- Pension funds
- Bank accounts
- Investment portfolios (with one or many firms)
- Stocks (and RSUs) and stock options
- Cryptocurrencies
- Baseball card collections
- Online entertainment content… The list can go on for some time.
At this point, a very reasonable question might come to mind: ‘If the legal principles that govern those processes haven’t evolved, how are we keeping up with technological progress and making sure our loved ones inherit the fruits of our hard work?’ Well – this is where digital inheritance comes in.
In short, this is a set of functionalities that allow people to:
- Catalog their assets in one secure online application;
- Assign beneficiaries to the assets as per their wishes;
- Choose how beneficiaries are notified in the case of an unforeseen event;
- Have a custom-engineered algorithm that detects unforeseen events.
In a way, digital inheritance is the only way to make sure your loved ones will know about the assets you own and be equipped with the information they need to inherit them. It’s a crucial tool that gives you the ability to not leave this important aspect of your life (and the lives of the people you love) to chance.
Does everybody need digital inheritance?
Instead of answering that question directly, let’s first ask a few more:
- Do we have a secure way to list all our assets, such as bank accounts, realty, pension funds, insurance policies, stocks, and online content?
- Are we certain that if something unfortunate and unforeseen were to happen, our loved ones would know how to find our assets?
- Do we have a way of giving ourselves (and those closest to us) peace of mind when it comes to those matters?
The basic concept of inheritance isn’t that simple; it involves many parties aside from the beneficiary and the benefactor – trustees, executors, lawyers, courts, and other government institutions. Our loved ones will need all the help they can get, especially given the toll such matters could take on them. Having a secure tech solution that allows us to constantly keep our asset catalog up to date and is able to notify our loved ones is of paramount importance in mitigating the stress of dealing with such matters.
How does digital inheritance compare to other solutions?
Quite simply, no other reliable solutions are on a par with (or better than) digital inheritance. You might think a digital vault is an awesome idea, but does it have a mechanism to detect unforeseen events and notify your loved ones?
What about spreadsheets? Quite useful, right? What happens if you lose access to that sheet or if the USB it’s on gets damaged?
Digital inheritance combines all the benefits of older solutions and presents none of the problems or security issues associated with them.
How does digital inheritance compare to other solutions?
It might sound complicated, but all it takes is a first step. That’s where we at DGLegacy come in – your trusted partner in digital inheritance! Register your free account and allow us to assist you in making sure you and your loved ones have peace of mind when it comes to such difficult matters.
