Estate Planning

Bitcoin, Facebook and Your Estate Plan – Where does it all fit?

By now, it’s a trite point - the world has gone digital. The wealth of information stored online grows by the second, and now, practically every person has left behind some digital footprint, especially when it comes to social media. Further, the rise of various Cryptocurrencies (“crypto”) has presented an unprecedented level of risk when it comes to digital estate planning. We all need to begin considering what digital impression we will leave behind when they die.

This article will outline two of the most significant components of digital Estate Planning that we come across, Social Media and Crypto, and present some options to prompt some initial considerations of risk and planning.

Who has the Last Word on Body Donation?

A Queensland resident who wishes to donate their body for therapeutic (transplant to the body of a living person) or medical/scientific purposes may do everything right in expressing these wishes before their death. They could:

  • register themselves as an Organ Donor on the National Register,

  • make a direction in their Will to donate their body tissue, and

  • make a Statutory Declaration the day before they die stating that they want to donate their body tissue.

They could take all these measures, and yet the decision may still be at the whim of someone else!

The DIY Will: Cheap Now, Expensive Later

Those in the Estate Planning space are often confronted with the question: “Why shouldn’t I do my Will myself?” It is a fair question, especially considering that DIY Will websites or DIY Will kits seem to make the whole process look easy. DIY Wills are almost always the cheaper option. However, just because something is easy does not mean it is quality, and cost savings in the short term may lead to more expensive outcomes.