Last will.

So the house goes to, the jewellery goes to, the superannuation fund goes to, your favourite tie goes to, all decisions made by people organising a will. Treasured goods going to people you know will appreciate them, goods the kids have had their eyes on for a while and goods hidden in the sock draw so the taxman can't get to them. This can be an exhausting list to manage and emotionally challenging, around who gets what and who misses out, and in the end, you still don't want to tick off cousin Louey. That exhausting list and that labyrinth of decisions is about to get more complex as a generational change in attitude to possessions and where they are kept brings about a shift in who gets what and how.

The photo albums, record collections, libraries, documentation, home movies, and all the memorabilia of the past is no longer in danger of being lost in a house fire, flood or mouldy cupboards but rather through negligence regarding updates, passwords and the death of the owner. Virtual goods and all the above are now included, are housed on PCs, tablets, phones, online and in the cloud, along with castles won in battle, land bought with online currency, credits held for the next "Texas hold’em tournament” and all manner of sundry booty claimed in online skirmishes. They are all assets of value and sentiment that need to be considered in digital estate planning. Your last login, needn't be the last time your family and friends have access to your treasure trove of online possessions.

The world's curators of all things online, Google, Facebook, Etsy, Twitter, YouTube have started program's aimed at making sure what you collect online, be it valuable, be it trash, it stays with the people you want it to stay with. Many online sites have cropped up with the intent to service this niche, from digitalestateplanning.net, no doubt looking for work,
"through some estimates, nearly a fifty percent of individuals with Facebook accounts died last year, leaving friends and family to navigate how to proceed with those webpages".

Google was one of the first to program for the inevitable with their "Inactive Account Manager", aimed at the ones left behind looking for that last email or YouTube clip. Not wanting to be insensitive the Googlers wait till no pulse has been felt via emails, chats, web history and then notify the people you have chosen to look after your online estate so they can download the appropriate information, photos and music they want as keepsakes. Along with online safes, finding trustees like Google will become part of the next generation's legal liabilities.

The only flaw is making sure your beneficiaries are tech savvy. No need to give this information to a generation back, ie your Mother, for the skills required to carry on the last game, where you mastered the top level in Castles and Dragons, will only reinforce her thinking this online stuff is just silly. And no matter how much financial data you may have locked in encryption, make sure you leave the key to the appropriate person.

Something to think about. I bequeath my blog to.......,n