If you’ve ever been frustrated by a social media company’s customer service, just imagine how your heirs will fare after you’re gone.
In the absence of legislation on the subject, tech companies generally default to costly (and slow) legal proceedings, requiring court orders before they’ll turn over key information about a deceased person.
However, they may have to rethink that approach, after an Alberta judge put tech giants on notice over, warning that they can expect “significant costs penalties” if they insist on demanding “redundant court orders” before granting executors access to a deceased person’s digital assets.
The case revolved around the Apple account of a young man who died without leaving a will or any instructions about his digital assets. The man’s parents were granted a probate order, which included an authorization to exercise rights over their son’s digital assets. But that wasn’t enough for Apple, who said they wouldn’t comply without a new court order, with different wording to match their own specific requirements.
Apple didn’t send a representative to the hearing, but the judge let them have it, writing that a further court order “was not required as a matter of law” and that tech company requests like these were placing “unnecessary and unjustified burdens on estates and the Court.”
“This Court is not in the business of issuing duplicative orders to assuage risk averse technology companies who are unwilling to learn the laws of the jurisdictions in which they do business. Going forward, an uncooperative technology company that demands a duplicative court order as a condition of doing business should be prepared to explain why they should not pay solicitor and his own client costs,” the judge concluded.
There’s no doubt this decision is good news for executors and beneficiaries who are struggling to gain access to a deceased loved one’s digital assets, especially if it scares tech companies into taking a more cooperative approach.
But it’s also important to remember that testators can help their heirs them bypass much of that hassle by accounting for things like their social media profiles, email accounts, online banking and even loyalty points in their estate plan.
Many social media and tech companies give users the option of deciding what happens to their account after they die. For example, Apple gives users an option to designate a “legacy contact” to access their account after death, while Facebook gives users the option to permanently delete their account when they die, or to maintain a memorialized version for supervision by a specified individual.
At Laredo Law, we prompt new clients to make a list of all their digital assets, as well as the passwords associated with each. Obviously you don’t want to have a list of all your passwords lying around for someone to find, but you can deposit the details with your lawyer or another trusted person for safekeeping, along with instructions for their use following your passing.
That’s generally a better option than a safety deposit box, where the bank’s strict access rules following death of the owner may hold up the process for heirs.
Disclaimer: The content on this web site is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice or an opinion of any kind. Users of this web site are advised to seek specific legal advice by contacting members of Laredo Law (or their own legal counsel) regarding any specific legal issues.
