In today's digital age, the amount of digital assets we accumulate on a daily basis is constantly increasing. From photos and videos, to e-banking accounts or a digital wallet containing bitcoins and the like, we are starting to own more and more of these digital assets and accounts. Have you ever wondered what would happen to all these possessions in the event of your sudden passing? Most people like to assume that their family will receive their inheritance, including digital assets, and most importantly, that they will have access to do so. In the age of digitalisation, this is often not the case, as it is increasingly difficult to keep track of all of one’s assets and savings, especially if they have been kept in different places. Even if it is not a problem for you personally, to access all of your digital assets, it could raise a problem for your family and loved ones, if you are no longer there.
Who has access to your credentials?
Nowadays, various passwords, keys, security codes, 2-factor authentication, fingerprints or facial recognition are needed to access one's assets and savings; which makes a lot of sense, as other people should not have access to your credentials. This state of affairs can nonetheless pose a big problem, when your loved ones or family members most urgently need access to your digital accounts and assets (e.g. in case of your untimely passing), they often have no way to do so. Digitalisation certainly has its benefits, but it also creates new challenges that we must learn to deal with.
More and more digital assets being stored in crypto-currencies
This problem of digital accessibility can quickly become pricey when it comes to digital assets. Crypto-currencies, for example, have opened up a multitude of possibilities and solutions for us to store, transfer and even increase our wealth within a short period of time. This sure has its advantages compared to traditional banking, which we are all very well accustomed to. But it also brings with it a number of new challenges that - as with everything else - you have to get familiar with.
A tragedy highlights the importance of digital heritage
Being human means making mistakes, and learning from said mistakes. In the case of digital assets, this means that we should not make the same mistakes that others have made in the past. In this regard, consider the dreadful case of Matthew Mellon.
If you haven't heard of this story before, it is a perfect example of why digital heritage is something not to overlook, especially in today's world. Matthew Mellon: husband and father of two, died in 2018 of unknown causes. While the loss of a family member is hard enough, it can be even more devastating when nothing is left to the bereaved. Matthew was worth nearly $1 billion at the time of his death. Most of his portfolio was in crypto-currencies stored in what is known as cold-storage. Unfortunately, Matthew had not made copies of his recovery keys, so his family did not have access to the wealth he had accumulated over his lifetime.
In short, the moral of the story is that if Matthew had made sure his family knew how to proceed in the event of his untimely passing, by creating a digital estate with access to his personal keys and accounts, his family would never have been in this unfortunate situation to begin with. However, it is always easier to recognise mistakes after they have been made. We also don't want to put all the blame on Matthew though, because it could also have been argued, that it is his family's responsibility to ensure that they have all the required information, that will guarantee them access to his inheritance.
There are simple ways and measures to avoid the mishaps deducted from Matthew's story and ways to not leave your family in a similar situation. It is crucial to talk to your loved ones about such far-reaching issues, even if we like to put them on the back burner. A lot can happen in daily life that we have no control over, but the least we can do is to prepare for some of these events ahead of time, so we do not descend into any uncomfortable life situations. The best way to show your love to your loved ones, is by being prepared and organised, and making sure that they have everything they need, even if you are no longer there to take care of them yourself.
Digital assets and their implementation
As the world is progressively transforming into a fully digital community with the rise in popularity of crypto-currencies, NFTs and blockchain technology, more and more assets are being stored away digitally rather than in the traditional way. Therefore, people need a trusted source to pass on their digital inheritance to.
Digital inheritance has led to a convergence of wealth management, estate planning and digital assets. However, the speed and ease with which digital assets are created, stored and transferred make them highly vulnerable to accidental loss or theft. For example, while creating a digital wallet helps secure digital assets, the user is given a random set of keywords when the wallet is created. These words can be used to regenerate your private key and gain access at any time. Technically, you or someone else could do this. Also, anything that is online is vulnerable to hacking, security breaches, technical failure, loss of passwords, or even unexpected death.
The SafeSide & LegacyNotes Solution
This is where SafeSide and LegacyNotes come in. Our goal is to protect you and your family by helping you financially secure your life in less than three minutes and manage your digital and traditional assets in a trustworthy way. So, if something unexpected happens to you, your digital assets will be passed on to your next of kin.
With SafeSide's pure life insurance, you ensure that your loved ones enjoy the best financial protection. The issue of digital inheritance fits seamlessly into this process. Pure life insurance pays out a fixed amount of money to beneficiaries if the insured person dies within the agreed term. Pure life insurance has no surrender value or value at the end of the agreed term and serves solely to provide financial security for the beneficiaries. Life insurance policies like SafeSide's pure life insurance, allow customers to pay a fixed amount for a set period of time without having to worry about the next of kin having access to your digital assets.
To organise these digital assets and facilitate digital inheritance, there is an excellent solution from Swiss company LegacyNotes. LegacyNotes supports its customers in making crucial decisions by facilitating their administrative work; this includes, for example, funeral wishes, the living will or the advance directive. In addition, customers store important data and determine how digital accounts and assets will be handled.
With the cooperation between SafeSide and LegacyNotes, SafeSide customers now have low-cost access to the LegacyNotes solution. Would you like to benefit from these conditions? Then become a SafeSide customer today.
Summary
When we think of our loved ones, we want to make sure that they are well while we are alive, but also when we're gone. With SafeSide's pure life insurance, you can make sure, that your loved ones are financially secure. With LegacyNotes' solution, you can easily manage how your loved ones deal with issues concerning final provisions, funeral wishes, dispositions and even digital inheritance.
We hope we have been able to educate you on digital insurance and inheritance, as it is a topic that affects most of us, even if we are not always aware of it; and more so in the future. We would still like to motivate you to do more research on your own terms, to find out if it makes sense to do the same for your loved ones. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at SafeSide or LegacyNotes, where we take pride in thoroughly helping you with your questions or needs.