Assets on the net What if I die?

February 18, 16:14

Make steadily deposits with an online bank account and manage investment trusts with online securities.

There are more opportunities to manage your assets online, but have you ever wondered what would happen if you died?

In the United States, it is estimated that children will lose an average of 2.5 million yen in heritage if they do not respond properly.

Now that the “digital heritage” is increasing, how should we prepare for an emergency?

(Los Angeles bureau reporter Nana Yamada)

If I die ...

Lena Pakechoseardo, 36, who lives in Texas, USA, gave birth to her first child in April 2020, when the infection with the new coronavirus spread rapidly.

She says she was anxious about the infection and she began to think for the first time, "What if she had something to do with her?"

I also gave birth to my second child and decided to use the online will service.

With this service, you can also manage assets on the Internet collectively.

Lena has listed accounts for online banking and crypto assets.

And I decided who and how much I wanted to keep.

Lena Pakechoseardo

"I don't think there is any guarantee in Corona's disaster. It makes sense to prepare for the post-mortem procedures that everyone faces."

What is important in heritage processing

The key here is to register in advance who will be given access to account information and who will be entrusted with the inheritance procedure.

Lena decided to ask her husband, and if her husband couldn't handle it, she decided to ask her sister and her husband, who are strong in the digital field.

The person responsible for processing the digital heritage does not necessarily have to be an heir.

The important thing is to choose someone you can trust to do the right thing.

Deciding who to request in advance will help you to proceed smoothly with the inheritance procedure.

In the United States, even if there is a will, if the "will executor" who puts it into practice has not been decided, it will take a considerable amount of time for the court to appoint a substitute.

CEO Barbo, a will-making service provider

"After the Corona disaster, I feel like I can talk about the afterlife with my family a little more than before. Not only the distribution of heritage, but who to handle it? It's very important to entrust it. If you haven't prepared yet, you should start right now. "

Will you lose an average of 2.5 million yen?

Passwords are a major barrier to the processing of digital heritage.

As the number of online accounts increases, complex passwords are required for security reasons, and reuse must be avoided.

In a survey conducted in the United States last year by a company that provides services related to digital heritage, only 36% of respondents said they knew their parent's account information.

On the other hand, more than half of the people have never talked about digital heritage with their parents.

If you don't know the password, the digital heritage may not be inherited by children, and it is estimated that the average of 2.5 million yen will be lost in the United States if you do not tell it in your will.

Under these circumstances, in the United States, some people are beginning to register passwords such as master keys that can cancel all accounts and use services that can be shared by family members in case of emergency.

SNS is also an important heritage

Digital heritage isn't always about money.

SNS accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are one of them.

This is because data such as personal friendships and photographs stored on SNS are also regarded as important assets.

If you leave your account as it is after your death, you may make someone sad that you send a message but it doesn't come back.

There is also the risk of misuse of personal information such as name and date of birth, as well as photos and videos.

In the United States, services that allow people close to you to close your account or notify connected people when you die are becoming more popular.

Eddie, CEO of SNS management service provider

"It's easy to think that making a will about money is enough, but since SNS is a part of a person's life, handling it is also important."

Is virtual space a heritage?

In the future, a new digital heritage may be born.

That is the experience and assets in the virtual space on the Metaverse = Internet.

In the Metaverse, you can use your own alter ego, called an avatar, to move around freely and experience various things just like in the real world.

In the virtual space, you can enjoy music and go on a trip at the same concert venue even with people who are physically far away.

You can save your experience here as if you were recording a video.

And if you access with that account, you can have the same experience even after the person died.

For this reason, the right to access memory records can be considered an asset, just like social media.

Real estate bought at Metaverse

In addition, you can buy land and buildings that exist in virtual space.

It may become commonplace to leave such “real estate” in wills as an object of inheritance in the future.

There is widespread belief among companies that provide services related to digital heritage that the assets in the Metaverse will also be considered heritage in the future.

CEO Barbo

"We have to think about how our identity will remain in the digital world. In the future, life isn't just about the time we live, it's in the Metaverse. It will include assets that will last forever. "

I also tried the service of making wills online.

After my death, I had never thought about who to handle the digital heritage, so it took me a long time just to find out which account I was using.

As I proceeded with the interview, I heard that some people started using the will service after seeing their parents taking time to process the heritage of their relatives.

As the digitalization of society continues to progress, the need to face the challenge of how to take over the assets managed there is steadily increasing.

I felt that preparing for an emergency is not only for myself, but also for my loved ones.

Los Angeles bureau reporter

Nana Yamada

Joined in 2009

Nagasaki bureau, economic department, international department, etc.