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5
Apr
With SMS 2.0, web 2.0 and other second generation or rather third generation techies, here comes Death 2.0! You must either be astonished or rather aghast…either way, I have your attention now.
Digital Wills as it is said so are one of the most recent to enter the “Will” circuit. Also known as the Internet Will, it is much easier to be created and could be used by you as well. Such a will is a form of list containing all the usernames and passwords and other confidential information stored in these accounts. A list could be created and given to the person who you trust the most and would want to have that information after your demise. More so, if you have a poor memory, such a list can aid you as well.
They can even be kept safe in your account and you could ask someone to send these to all your contacts informing them about your demise. More so, incase you want your children to take care of your finances; you can provide them with all the details regarding your bank account.
In contrast to a will on paper, a digital will is safe in services like the “Last Messages Club” which is very prominent in the UK. Also, it could always be kept updated. More so, there are many such services available which cater to the deceased.
So next time you start thinking about what would happen to all your online secrets, think again! Or scared that your will on paper could easily be forged? Your days of worry can literally get over now.
Agreed that the current generation is net and tech savvy, but the older generation has slowly caught up. It is but obvious that our previous generation has comparatively less number of years to live. So, its time that they start thinking about forming a Will leaving behind what rightfully belongs to their loved ones.
Be it the previous generation or the current one – every second person in urban India has a secret life “Online”. Be it professional or social networking, emails, chats or the more serious work such as e – banking and so on. After all, the online frenzy bug has spread throughout making it as addictive as it could. Most of them make a living out of it.
So what happens to these accounts when the user dies? For instance, an individual caters to all his finances sitting at home using his net banking account. Let’s say he dies the very next day in an accident. What would happen to all his finances? Rather, it has to be ensured that no one misuses all his personal accounts which are full of highly confidential information.
In times of today, it would not be wrong to say that there are two faces of an individual in his entire life – one that he portrays in real life while the other exists on the Internet in the wee hours. Sometimes, the online one might turn out to be the more important of the two.
Most of the netizens are hardly aware of the laws that accompany such a situation. More so, there are many online conglomerates that do not have a ready made policy catering to the users who are deceased. There are others as well who do not publish their terms and conditions.
For instance, the deceased had a Google account and the relatives knew that the account has some information that would be of benefit to the family. Google can help in such a case. The family would be asked to present the full name and contact details of both the deceased as well as the family member seeking information. You would also be asked to submit an email address that could be verified, a copy of the email that you have received from the deceased person authorizing you to collect the relevant information, a copy of the death certificate and the power of attorney for the email account. After verifying the above information, Google would provide you with the necessary information.
Additionally, you might want to know that if Google notices inactivity for almost a year, there are high chances that the email is deleted. So, you can plan your strategies now itself for what is to happen to your secrets post your death!
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