Own a digital will for a digital heir

Bangalore: Most of the human beings are a lot dependent on social networking sites and emails to entertain themselves and internet banking accounts and digital photo albums are required for various kinds of works. The question that arises is what happens to all this data stored in our PCs after we die,reports Divya A. of Times News Network.Digital Will provides answers to questions like who will get an access to those passwords and user-names and who can log on as the digital heir. It is a document that bequeaths a persons digital assets to his heirs.

In order to have a digital will, a digital inventory needs to be created which is an index of soft assets and an authentication of digital signature. "Then, it wont take more than a day and a couple of thousands (of rupees) to have your digital will ready," says Supreme Court advocate Pavan Duggal, who specializes in cyber law. "Most of us never think about making arrangements to name an heir for our digital assets, and it becomes a Herculean task for legal representatives to get a succession certificate for such data. It could take years in court."

While passing on digital information after an account holder's death, service providers follow different policies. Google India spokesman Gaurav Bhaskar says, "Account details of a deceased can be passed on only to someone who furnishes proof of authority under local law that he is the lawful representative of the deceased, and presents the death certificate and other documents. The process may take up to 30 days."

Mumbai based cyber behavior expert Neeta Mehra opines that most of the people do not prefer personal stuffs like email, social networking accounts, etc, to be passed on. "To avoid this, one can use the services of 'do-it-yourself account guardian' websites where one can upload all secret data and opt for account incinerator services (getting your account deleted in the event of death)," she says. Such websites need a death certificate and a copy of the obituary. However, they are not governed by any law.