How wills can help safeguard your personal digital legacies

I’m a digital creator. With much of my work and identity online, how can I protect my digital assets and include them in my will? —Name withheld on request

- Rohit Jain & Keshav Singhania

In India, there is currently no specific legal framework for digital estate planning or for the inheritance of digital assets such as emails, social media, and cloud storage. The Indian Succession Act, 1925 governs the transfer of physical, movable, and immovable property, but does not address ownership, control, or transmission of digital assets after death.

You can, however, include digital assets in your Will, granting Executors and Beneficiaries the right to access and manage them. It’s advisable to maintain an inventory of all digital assets and access instructions in your Will, with clear directions on how each should be managed, transferred, or deleted.