Clients’ digital lives need to be properly managed or valuable accounts, assets and cryptocurrencies could be lost, warns James Ward, partner and head of private client at Kingsley Napley.
Ward has seen the private client law firm transformed by technology and campaigns to raise awareness on issues around digital and how it impacts last will and testaments.
If the details of a virtual currency or account is on a memory stick it can be overlooked or difficult to pass on to loved ones.
“Sometimes you see things clearly and the way we store information and communicate is really going to change how people operate,” he told International Adviser.
“You used to be able to go into a person’s study, scoop up the paperwork and hold their life, it was very tangible.
“Now there is more IT, emails, online bank accounts and paper is disappearing.
“If you add international assets; a lawyer can’t always find them – what happens if you lose capacity?”
Difficult transfer
“You can’t just hand over a bunch of passwords,” continues Ward. “It has to be managed carefully. I encourage clients to keep an asset log and to press print occasionally, a statement or a screen grab, so we know where an asset is.
“Private client work is now much more global and as professionals we have to be switched on. If you add IT issues and different jurisdictions, it can be a cocktail of complication.”
The planning is yet further complicated by individuals’ approach and different cultural attitudes to legacy planning.
