Category Archives: Social Networking Accounts

Estate Planning for Social Networking Accounts

Appointing a Legacy Contact for a Facebook Account After Death

Facebook now allows you to appoint a “legacy contact” for your Facebook account after you die. Previously, after a user died, Facebook would not allow anyone else to access or modify the deceased user’s Facebook account, but the account could … Continue reading

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Video Clip: Family Fights to Access Late Son’s Digital Data

Minnesota’s KSTP-TV Eyewitness News ran a video story on January 20, 2015, by Tom Hauser about the Anderson family who tragically lost their nineteen-year-old son, Jake. Their son’s death was ruled accidental, but the family wants answers about the events … Continue reading

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Facebook Updates Its Policies for Deceased Users

According to a February 21, 2014, news release, Facebook has made two updates to its policies regarding the accounts of deceased users. Previously, Facebook allowed one of two options for a deceased user’s account. First, the personal representative of a … Continue reading

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The Digital Death Conundrum: How Federal and State Laws Prevent Fiduciaries from Managing Digital Property

The University of Miami Law Review just published The Digital Death Conundrum: How Federal and State Laws Prevent Fiduciaries from Managing Digital Property (direct PDF link), a new article coauthored by James D. Lamm, Christina L. Kunz, Damien A. Riehl, … Continue reading

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Valuable $50,000 Twitter Account Allegedly Stolen

There was an interesting January 29, 2014, article on CNET written by Don Reisinger describing how a thief/hacker allegedly hijacked an Internet domain name and e-mail account belonging to Naoki Hiroshima and stole his Twitter username. According to Mr. Hiroshima’s … Continue reading

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Thoughts on the Stored Communications Act, Federal Preemption and Supremacy, and State Laws on Fiduciary Access to Digital Property

As of the date of this posting, seven states have recently passed laws and at least eighteen other states are considering new laws granting fiduciary access to an incapacitated or deceased person’s online accounts and other digital property. The Uniform … Continue reading

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Video Clip: What Happens to E-mail, Facebook, and iTunes After You Die?

Minnesota’s KSTP-TV Eyewitness News ran a five-minute video story on May 2, 2013, by Tom Hauser on what happens to your Apple iTunes purchases, e-mail accounts, Facebook account, and other online accounts after you die. I had the pleasure of … Continue reading

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Jim Lamm Presents on Digital Death at 2013 Heckerling Institute

On Thursday, January 17, 2013, I presented a ninety–minute seminar titled “Digital Death: What to Do When Your Client Is Six Feet Under But His Data Is in the Cloud” with Professor Christina L. Kunz and Damien A. Riehl at … Continue reading

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Jim Lamm Quoted in The Wall Street Journal

On January 5, 2013, I was quoted in The Wall Street Journal in the article “Life and Death Online: Who Controls a Digital Legacy?” by Geoffrey A. Fowler. The article describes a Toronto family’s struggle with a deceased teenager’s digital … Continue reading

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Facebook Blocks Demand for Contents of Deceased User’s Account

On September 20, 2012, Facebook obtained a court order blocking a demand to turn over the contents of a deceased user’s Facebook account. The executor of Sahar Daftary’s estate requested a subpoena to compel Facebook to turn over the decedent’s Facebook … Continue reading

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