On Friday, our blog discussed how those people inching ever closer to retirement age — aka Baby Boomers — need to expand their focus beyond retirement planning and ensure that they have an estate plan in place to protect the substantial assets they’ve accumulated over a lifetime of hard work.
It should be noted, however, that Boomers aren’t the only generation with unique estate planning needs that must be addressed sooner than later. Indeed, some experts have turned their attention to Generation X, meaning those Americans born between the early 60s and early 80s.
Specifically, these experts point out that Gen Xers, as they are commonly known, will not only have to address the typical estate planning concerns (tax minimization strategies, avoiding family disputes, etc.) and execute the necessary estate planning instruments (wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care proxies, etc.), but also address certain issues that may not be otherwise be as much of a concern to Boomers.
- Digital assets: A person may be in possession of far more digital assets than they realize, as this can include everything from music, movies and books purchased over the Internet to e-mail accounts, domains and various files stored on a computer or in the cloud. Given that such assets can be hard to track down and even harder to access, experts indicate that Gen Xers will want to ensure that their estate plan contains the necessary information to ensure these digital assets are managed properly.
- Social media: As much as people might try to deny it, social media occupies a very important presence in their lives. Indeed, it’s not uncommon for people to devote significant time, energy and resources into creating the best possible LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and, of course, Facebook account. While this is certainly nothing to be embarrassed about, experts indicate that Gen Xers need to understand that many of these social media sites have extremely strict privacy policies, such that accessing them after their passing and without the proper clearance can be difficult, if not impossible. As such, an estate plan should account for this so-called digital afterlife.
To learn more about the elements of a comprehensive estate plan that can give you and your loved ones peace of mind about the future, consider speaking with an experienced legal professional as soon as possible.
