Being VA approved as an accredited attorney for veterans is an honor that sets each Roberson Law attorney apart from many other attorneys in the area who practice in the areas of Estate Planning, Trust, Probate and Elder Law. 

Planning for the disposition of digital information or assets upon one's death continues to be a hot topic in the social media world.  Just about every social media giant, including Facebook and Ebay, has published articles about this topic.   This past Spring, Google released its instructions for death planning as it relates to accessing and deactivating Gmail accounts after death.  Read the article here.

The New York Times recently published an article that drives home the importance of planning for your digital afterlife.  The article addressed the issues pertaining to accessing online banking accounts, brokerage records, and other financial information that a decedent may have managed electronically during his or her life.  According to the Times article, a recent study published by the organization U.S. Trust said that "45 percent of the high-net-worth people it polled had not organized passwords and account information for their digital lives in a place where heirs or an executor would find them."  Read the full article here.

Consumers who buy and sell items on Ebay, and have a Paypal account, also need to ensure that they have their Paypal login information available in the event of their deaths.  This is especially important if the decedent generated substantial income from selling products online.

There are many online vault companies to whom one can pay a monthly fee to have passwords and pins stored securely online. 

 

Regardless of where you choose to store your digital account information, we suggest that the instructions regarding accessing your said accounts be addressed in your "Letter of Instruction," an estate planning document that we recommend to all of our clients.  The last thing that heirs want to deal with is having an estate administration delayed due to the executor's difficulty in obtaining access to the decedent's digital assets. 

Established in 1921, The Dayton Foundation (TDF) has been providing charitable giving services to Greater Dayton residents for more than 92 years. These services include scholarship funds, donor advised funds, and family foundation alternatives, among other current and deferred endowed fund options. The most popular and widely used service is the Foundation's free Charitable Checking Account Service (CCA).  Bob and Nancy Roberson have enjoyed using their CCA for many years and enthusiastically endorse this service.

 

The CCA Service functions like a personal checking account. Individuals may deposit cash or appreciated assets, such as stocks, into an account when it's most advantageous for them and then instruct TDF which IRS-approved charities they want to donate to, how much and when. The Foundation does all the work, including sending the grant checks, and simplifies the record keeping and tax-reporting process.

 

For example, Mr. and Mrs. Donor open a CCA, naming it the John and Sue Donor Family Fund. Each year they consistently give to ten different charities, for a total of $1,000. With their new CCA, they decide to transfer stock (100 shares of ABC) from their account at XYZ Financial Institution to their Family Fund at TDF (cash gifts work just as well). TDF sells the shares and places 100% of the proceeds into Mr. and Mrs. Donors' Family Fund. Because the stock was deposited into a fund at TDF, which is a 501(c)(3) public charity, no capital gains are incurred by Mr. and Mrs. Donor. They then receive an acknowledgement letter from TDF that they can use for their taxes in the year that the gift was made. The deduction is for the fair market value of the stock. For tax purposes, the charitable event occurs when the money goes into their Family Fund and not when it is distributed to the charities. At tax time, Mr. and Mrs. Donor don't have to worry about multiple receipts, canceled checks, etc. All they need is the one statement from TDF detailing their account activity for the year. It's that easy!

 

Now their account is funded. Mr. and Mrs. Donor read in the paper that a dear friend has passed. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the individual's favorite charity. Mr. Donor accesses his account from his computer via the Foundation's secure, online service, Donor Express, and makes a grant to the charity in memory of his dear friend. (A paper process is available, if preferred.) No envelope, no pledge form, no stamp and no trip to the post office are necessary. It's easy, convenient and quick.

 

As events and circumstances arise throughout the year, Mr. and Mrs. Donor are able to make grants from their Family Fund to the charities of their choice. As the account starts to deplete, Mr. and Mrs. Donor may add cash or stocks for future giving opportunities. There is no minimum amount needed to open a Charitable Checking Account, and there are no fees. The Dayton Foundation only requests a $15 minimum for grant distributions. Plus, grants to charities can be made in the donor's name or anonymously, if preferred.

 

This is a free service offered by The Dayton Foundation. For more information, contact Joe Baldasare, vice president of Development for The Dayton Foundation, at (937) 225-9954 or [email protected]. Additional information about The Dayton Foundation is also available online.