SYK attorney and fiduciary litigator Victoria Blachly was featured recently in a KPTV news segment regarding an update to Oregon law.
Beginning next year, SB 1554 will allow legal access to digital assets. Read more about the laws of digital assets and the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Accounts Act (RUFADAA) in our recent article.
When someone dies, a person is appointed to handle the affairs of their estate – the fiduciary. A fiduciary (aka “personal representative”) reviews documents to determine assets and debts, but now that we have shifted to managing most bills and finances online, this creates challenges for fiduciaries. If they are not authorized by the deceased person to have access to their online financial or social media accounts, then they are committing cybercrimes under federal and state laws for accessing such accounts. This can be a problem when they need to locate important financial information or for families of those who have passed, who may need access to old photos and memories.
In her interview, Victoria reports that SB 1554 is a tool, allowing users to let people know what to do with their social media account after their passing.
“You must affirmatively state in your estate planning documents that you want your fiduciaries to have online access otherwise it defaults to the terms of service agreements,” Blachly said.
This means that it is time to call your estate planner and take action to insure your important financial information, as well as memories and social accounts, are correctly cared for
Attorney Victoria Blachly has been speaking across the United States on issues surrounding trusts and estate since the early 2000s.