The Digital Legacy Association have been advising the Law Commission in areas relating to digital assets, digital legacy and UK law. We fully support today’s announcement by the Law Commissions and their intent to modernise the law in order to make will writing easier for the general public. Today’s announcement stated;

The law of wills needs to be modernised to take account of the changes in society, technology and medical understanding that have taken place since the Victorian era. This morning the Law Commission announced:

The significant changes relevant to a review of wills law include:

• the ageing population and the greater incidence of dementia;
• the evolution of the medical understanding of disorders, diseases and conditions that could affect a person’s capacity to make a will;
• the emergence of and increasing reliance upon digital technology;
• changing patterns of family life, for example, more cohabiting couples and more people having second families; and
• that more people now have sufficient property to make it important to control to whom it passes after their death.

Digital Assets and Digital Legacy

You can read the full report by the Law Commission here (PDF)

The Digital Legacy Association will continue to work with the Law Commission over the coming months. We will also continue to campaign, raise awareness and support both professionals and the general public in areas relating to digital assets, digital legacy and grieving online.