Scots encouraged to prepare for handling of digital legacy as part of financial planning - St. James’s Place report

Importance of planning regarding key details of financial accounts as online increases dominance over paper documentation.

'It is important that people consider their digital legacy as part of their wider financial planning,' says St. James’s Place. Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto.

Scots are being urged to get preparations in place regarding their digital legacy, as 43 per cent – equivalent to more than two million people – admit that they have not shared all details of their financial accounts with someone they trust, according to new research.

Wealth-manager St. James’s Place also found that despite people spending nearly a quarter of their day online, their digital life is often overlooked when thinking about legacy planning. The top reason Scots haven’t shared details of the financial accounts they hold was thinking they didn’t need to brief anyone on this (39 per cent), followed by not wanting to share this information (14 per cent), planning on briefing someone but haven’t got around to it yet (15 per cent), and not knowing where to start (9 per cent).

St. James’s Place however stressed that as more financial products and services are being hosted online with less of a paper trail, the need to share details with a trusted individual who may need to access these details e.g., in the event of death or incapacitation, is becoming increasingly important. Scottish firm Biscuit Tin enables keeping track of such information in a personalised secure digital vault.

More than one in ten Scots said they change their passwords so regularly it’s too much work keeping legacy plans up to date, but 8 per cent said they had shared details of their financial accounts with a trusted person, which they otherwise may not have considered doing, after experiencing a personal loss.

Eddie Grant, director at St. James’s Place, has outlined tips including keeping all your financial documentation in a designated place, and telling your loved ones where they can find it. He also said: “It is important that people consider their digital legacy as part of their wider financial planning to ensure that our loved ones have all the information that they may need in times of vulnerability. There can be lots to think about and it can be a difficult and uncomfortable topic, so it’s worth speaking to a financial adviser who can help guide you through the process of passing down your digital legacy in a safe way, at your own pace.”