What Happens to your Digital Estate on death

A while back I wrote a post on the topic of social networks, online bank accounts and other high tech issues in estate planning today. Specifically, the issue has come up with how do you plan for your death, when you are not supposed to share your passwords. Often, it becomes difficult for loved ones to gain access to a social network or online bank account after someone passes away. In my personal life, I know of a family friend who passed last year who still has a facebook profile.

If you remember there was an article back in July 2009 in the Wall Street Journal that did an excellent job of discussing the issue.
Well now Scott Brown at Wired Magazine has gone along and written about it. Apparently, now a host of companies has sprung up to offer solutions, at a price of course.
Here are three companies mentioned in the article:

• AssetLock.net


• deathswitch


• Legacy Locker

Be advised that this area is so new I have no experience with any of these companies mentioned. I have contacted all three companies to inquire as to more information regarding their services and prices. I will let you know my feelings after I hear back.

And as mentioned in my previous post there are different ways to deal with this. One way might be to leave your personal representative a flash drive
with a .txt file named Online Passwords. Of course, then it would be up to you to update the passwords in .txt file and to ensure that it finds its way to your personal representative when you die. Additionally, you will have to worry about it not falling into the wrong hands until you die.

ABOUT CHRISTOPHER R. TWINING
Christopher R. Twining, Attorney at Law, based in the Westwood Neighborhood of Los Angeles is an innovative estate planning, probate & trust administration, and elder law attorney, who offers in home services for busy and movement challenged clients. The Law Office of Christopher R. Twining serves the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Culver City, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Pasadena, Burbank and the neighborhoods of West Los Angeles, Westwood, Brentwood, Bel-Air, Pacific Palisades, Palms, Pico-Robertson and Encino. Dedicated to helping individuals and couples prepare comprehensive estate plans according to their wishes; he offers them these services at an affordable price, in the relaxed comfort of their homes. For more information about his services, please visit http://www.twininglaw.com or call (310) 492-5990.

CHRISTOPHER R. TWINING
LAW OFFICES OF CHRISTOPHER R. TWINING
1440 VETERAN AVENUE, SUITE 509
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90024
(310) 492-5990 Fax (310) 775-9774
http://www.twininglaw.com Read more On "What Happens to your Digital Estate on death"!

Property Tax Estate Planning Errors

Recently I have discovered that many so called "estate planning professionals" have neglected to consider Property Taxes and the affects of reassessment upon survivors.

In California, as many people know, the property tax laws we have today were largely the effect of Proposition 13 and its progeny. Proposition 13 effectively capped how high an assessment could grow on an annual basis. This artificial percentage cap did not keep pace with California's rapidly rising real estate market.


Consequently, there are many people, especially older Californians who have lived in their homes for decades, who find that there homes are assessed at 1/3 or 1/4 of the Fair Market Value, even in today's bad real estate market.

Most people do not realize but the death of an owner is considered a "change in ownership" for property tax purposes. A change in ownership ordinarily means that a property will be reassessed all the way up to fair market value, unless the survivors can make use of one of the few "exclusions" in the Revenue & Taxation Code which exclude the transfers from "change in ownership treatment"

The most common Property Tax Reassessment Exclusions are:

• Inter-spousal transfers
• Transfers between registered domestic partners
• Parent-child transfers
• Grandparent-grandchild transfers

Of late I have seen both confusion in the way the Grandparent -Grandchild Transfer works and the failure of a same sex couple to take advantage of the exclusion between registered domestic partners ( by failing to become registered domestic partners to qualify for the exclusion).

ABOUT CHRISTOPHER R. TWINING
Christopher R. Twining, Attorney at Law, based in the Westwood Neighborhood of Los Angeles is an innovative Estate Planning, Probate & Trust Administration, and elder law attorney, who offers in home services for busy and movement challenged clients. The Law Office of Christopher R. Twining serves the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Culver City, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Pasadena, Burbank and the neighborhoods of West Los Angeles, Westwood, Brentwood, Bel-Air, Pacific Palisades, Palms, Pico-Robertson and Encino. Dedicated to helping individuals and couples prepare comprehensive estate plans according to their wishes; he offers them these services at an affordable price, in the relaxed comfort of their homes. For more information about his services, please visit http://www.twininglaw.com or call (310) 492-5990.

CHRISTOPHER R. TWINING
LAW OFFICES OF CHRISTOPHER R. TWINING
1440 VETERAN AVENUE, SUITE 509
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90024
(310) 492-5990 Fax (310) 775 - 9774
http://www.twininglaw.com

Read more On "Property Tax Estate Planning Errors"!