Digital assets in your Will


The Law Society has recently urged people to consider including digital assets such as emails and photos in their Wills.

In a survey of 1,000 respondents:

  • only one quarter knew what would happen to their digital assets after they die;
  • 29% of those surveyed had an up-to-date Will; and
  • 93% of those who do have a Will have not included any digital assets in it.

With technology being such a large part of modern life you would think it would be obvious but often people are surprised at the extent of their substantial digital assets. Whilst these may not be of significant financial value, they can be of considerable sentimental value, including family photos and social media accounts.

The laws surrounding digital assets are complex but there are clauses that can be included in your Will to make the process of dealing with digital assets easier.

Some social media platforms have put in place specific provision for digital legacies to allow users to nominate a specified person to deal with their accounts after they have died. For further advice on dealing with digital assets in your Will please contact us.

Rebecca Dixon is a solicitor in the private client department at Barker Gotelee, Suffolk solicitors.

Personal Solicitors Suffolk – for more information on our range of legal services, please call the team on 01473 611211 or email [email protected]