four Important Steps in Managing Your Google Account for Property Planning – New York Property Planning Lawyer Weblog – Mar 31, 2021

If you have one Google user accountYou have various data as well as tools to manage your account. What many people don’t realize, however, is that you can tell Google how to manage your account as part of your estate plan. People rely on Google Accounts and applications for a variety of purposes, including managing documents, photos, and spreadsheets. Google accounts are also becoming more common as a Google account is required before a person can use Android phones, tables, or other Android-based devices. However, managing digital assets is often overlooked when people do estate planning. To better prepare you to navigate this process, this article lists some important details about implementing your Google Account into your estate plan.

# 1 – Create an inheritance plan for your Google account

There are several important steps you should take when creating an estate plan for your Google Account. These steps include:

• You will need to identify either an executor or a principal for your estate. You will also need to specify who will manage your digital assets and accounts.
• You need to direct your requests to Google to learn how to manage your account.
• Google will request various details including how long it should take your Google Account to go inactive, which phone number to receive Google text messages, and which email address to use to receive email from Google.

# 2 – Estimate how much data Google is storing

Google stores different amounts of data depending on how much or how often a person uses the company’s devices. While Google can store an exhaustive amount of detail, it can also store a small amount of detail. Think about how you use google based applications in your life. For example, you can use Google only for work communications, or you can rely on Picasa to save all of your photos. The level or type of data you store should affect your estate planning for your Google Account.

# 3 – Think how many people have access to digital assets

You should consider who can access your accounts if something happens to you, which could include sudden incapacity for work or unexpected death. While keeping your login information private is important, you should also consider whether someone can access your files without incurring significant costs or court orders.

# 3 – Decide your period of inactivity

Inactive Google Account Manager tells Google what to do with your digital assets if you don’t sign in for a period of time. It is up to you to define this period. A person can choose blocks of three months up to a year and a half. The inactive account manager will then notify your designated agent via email and mobile phone that it is their turn to take over your account.

Seek advice from an estate planning attorney

The estate planning process is nuanced and it can be difficult to decide how best to achieve your estate planning goals. One of the best steps you can take in such a situation is with the assistance of a skilled estate planning attorney. Contact Law firm Ettinger today for help.