Whenever I see a new client about a will, I ask about digital assets. For most people, this is their social media and email account; once or twice I’ve had clients with PayPal accounts that they store money in, but never anything significant. So most of my clients don’t see the need to even address their digital assets, because they’re not worth much.
But what about when they are?
Gerry Cotten died suddenly earlier this year. He was the CEO of QuadrigaCX, a cryptocurrency exchange that happened to be the largest in Canada. Mr. Cotton did not plan for what was to happen in the event of his death; like many in the tech world, death seems to be a low priority concern. The problem in this case is that his lack of planning has led to multimillion-dollar losses for his clients.
Cryptocurrencies are attractive because of their untraceability and security, but that security can also be their downfall. In the case of QuadrigaCX, Mr. Cotten was literally the only person with access to the necessary keys to allow the individual owners to access their investments. Because of his death, up to $250 million is locked up and inaccessible to its owners. It may never be recovered.
Most of us don’t have access to this level of money in digital assets, but dealing with your digital assets is still important. If you haven’t address them in your will, you should.
You can go here for more information about QuadrigaCX.
