What is a digital store & why you need one?

Your digital store is an area that your loved ones can find your personal documents, details of accounts & bills and your wishes. The store can be included in your will and your power of attorney, but can also be a stand alone document or store.

Why do I need a digital store?

If something happens to you; an illness where you are incapacitated or at even worse death, would your loved ones know what bills to pay, insurances you had or your friends contact details. Previous generations have relied on filing cabinets and phone books to be able to access these areas, but as we have become more digitally focused, this is far less common.

10 million people have no idea where their other half's money is banked or invested

Reference: GoCompare survey 2018

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Making things easier for your loved ones in a already stressful time, will enhance their memory of you. The alternative is to have family and friends spending  a frustrating time trying to find account details and passwords. It could also have a financial impact whereby they do not claim for pensions or insurances, as they never knew about them.

Make your loved ones lives easier when the worst happens

If you do not consider or express your wishes for your digital life after your death, it add an emotional toll on your loved ones. We have so many online services and social media profiles with personal information that our loved ones may want to access or remove from public view. EXamples are sites like Facebook or Linkedin if you do not archive these accounts, anniversary reminders will automatically come up some of which may not be wanted or appropriate and cause further distress.

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Your family members may want to access photos stored digitally, without your permission this will not be possible. Privacy law is very strict, so do not assume companies will happily give you access no matter what your relationship is to the deceased. The onus is on the deceased to have already set up their permissions, in our resources section you can see how each company does this.

How does this differ from a will?

Within your will there should be details of your assets and insurances, but there should also be access to things like utility providers, bills and bank statements, however your will is not as easily updated and changing it regularly could be costly. Accounts, bills and insurances may change far more regularly than the frequency you update your will. A link to your digital store, or passwords to it could be included in your will so only your trusted contacts can access when it is necessary.

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The store may outline your wishes for your social media presence but any financial settlement will need to be included in your will.