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Get your head out of the clouds and protect electronic assets- 14/11/2011
Internet bank accounts and other online assets could end up being lost or stolen, if individuals do not find a secure route to pass on to their family confidential passwords and account information in their wills, warns a leading Shropshire Wills Trusts and Estate Planning solicitor.
Jane Hughes, partner at Shropshire law firm FBC Manby Bowdler LLP, says that billions of pounds worth of online assets could end up being lost in cyberspace, or in the hands of fraudsters.
“Nearly half of adults in Britain now own internet-hosted assets, but many are failing to protect confidential information or finding out how to pass these assets on when they make their will,” says Miss Hughes, who is based in FBC Manby Bowdler’s Shrewsbury office.
A recent survey by London University’s Centre for Creative and Social Technology revealed that 44% of adults in Britain have internet bank accounts, eBay accounts or personal records such as digital photograph albums. The total value of these assets is estimated to be £2.3 billion.
Many of those surveyed had not drawn up a will that would protect these assets and ensure they passed on to their family. Since the assets are intangible and often not evidenced by paper files of monthly statements, there is a danger that they will be forgotten, or that if family are aware of their existence they will not be able to access the personal belongings because they do not know the password.
The other problem highlighted by the London University survey was that 11% of those questioned either had mentioned, or intended to mention, each account number and password explicitly in their wills, and this can give rise to the danger of fraud.
Miss Hughes explains: “After a person dies, the executors named in the will must apply for confirmation of their appointment. Once the courts issue this confirmation, known as a Grant of Probate, the will is a public document; anyone can request a copy, and if it sets out account numbers and passwords, a fraudster could potentially gain access to those internet accounts or private documents.”
Miss Hughes advises that any personal information that should not be published should be kept with the will in a separate envelope, so that it will remain secret, but will not be overlooked.
She adds: “The plain fact is that there are many unregulated will writers who don’t have such specialist knowledge on this and other key matters. If you seek advice from a specialist solicitor, particularly if they are a member of Solicitors for the Elderly and of STEP, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, as are our solicitors, you know they will be properly qualified, regulated and insured and give knowledgeable advice.”