What's your digital legacy? Apple announce new legacy service

In an increasingly digital age, it's important to know the options available for your digital assets should you lose capacity or prepare for how they are managed on your death.

Tech companies are getting better at dealing with digital assets on death and it has been announced that Apple will be soon offering a new digital legacy service for user accounts. This will allow an administrator to sign in through a legacy contact Apple ID and view data stored in iCloud and Apple’s cloud service. The legacy contact will not be given access to payment information including stored payment cards or logins stored on a user’s Keychain.

Apple’s approach is a welcome development for dealing with digital assets for a deceased person as without a specified process, digital assets can be difficult to deal with. There have been a number of reported cases where families have taken service providers to court to gain access to accounts of a loved one which have highlighted the need for a more streamlined method.

Whilst details on exactly how Apple’s new service will work are yet to be confirmed, considering succession of digital assets should play an important role when estate planning.

If you would like further advice about succession of your digital assets please contact one of our specialist lawyers in the tax and estate planning team.

Contributor: Sarah Pitman

This publication is intended for general guidance and represents our understanding of the relevant law and practice as at June 2021. Specific advice should be sought for specific cases. For more information see our terms & conditions