• April 19, 2024
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Digital Asset security, important in both life and death…

Digital Asset security, important in both life and death…

The population are busy accumulating digital assets. This might be a host of photos on social media, to a small fortune in your betting or PayPal account.

When you think more about it, we seem to live our lives online these days and one of the ways we can easily ‘lose our identity’ is through having our email accounts hacked. Our email addresses tend to be linked to our social media platforms, bank accounts, utilities, TV contracts and so much more with a potential for untold damage.

Keeping your assets secure is certainly essential. Having secure passwords is incredibly important but remembering these details can be a challenge at times.

With this in mind you or your clients may wish to open a life vault through the Society of Will Writers.

The life vault is opened during your lifetime. It allows you to securely store bank details, passwords, life insurance information, pension statements, and information about shares, videos you’ve recorded for your family for when you’ve passed away as well as copies of your Will, LPA and other important estate planning tools.

Not convinced? Consider this. You’re travelling abroad. On arrival your luggage has gone missing. Your day gets worse, you get mugged and your passport, driving license and wallet get stolen. Here are two possible outcomes:

  • You don’t have a life vault. You can’t prove your identity at the embassy. You can’t cancel your credit card with your bank. You can’t notify your travel insurance provider what happened without great difficulty.
  • You have a vault. Using your secure logins you have access to your travel insurance documents, copies of your driving license, passport and have your national insurance number. In addition you can access your bank details and can notify your bank that your card has been stolen.

There is so much more to the vault than simple storage. The vault can be used to collate all the information an executor would need after a testator passed away. Copies of their Will, or information as to where the original is stored, life insurance information and passwords for online accounts are examples of things that would save time when it comes to probate. For more information on the Life Vault provided by Safe 4 can be found at https://www.safe-4.co.uk/sww/

This article was submitted to be published by The Society of Will Writers as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Wills & Probate. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Wills & Probate.

The Society of Will Writers

https://www.willwriters.com/

The Society of Will Writers (SWW) is a non-profit making self-regulatory organisation that seeks to protect the public and serve the interests of those who are active professionals in the Will Writing and Estate Planning field, as well as the upkeep of advancement, education, and ethical standards within the profession. Founded in 1994, the SWW has grown to a membership of over 1700 estate planning professionals across the UK, Europe and further afield in places such as Asia and Africa, each championing our standards and enabling the public access to high-quality Will Writing and Estate Planning services.

The main goals of the SWW are:

  • To promote to the public at large the real need and sense in having a valid will.
  • To act as a self-regulatory body by vetting practitioners through stringent membership requirements, proficiency standards and ongoing training.
The SWW is proud to be one of the frontrunning organisations where steering the profession is concerned, regularly meeting with other regulators and industry stakeholders to ensure that our members voices are heard, and needs are matched. Being a member of the SWW also grants access to exclusive benefits such as unlimited technical support when you’re in need of help, bespoke PII cover available only to SWW members, a web listing through the Find a Member section on our website, and discounts on both our and selected partner’s products and services. SWW Members also have access to regional groups, ongoing training, and an annual conference, all designed to enhance their knowledge and create excellent networking opportunities.

The designatory letters of the SWW’s membership grades:

  • SWW (Affiliate)
  • MSWW (Full)
  • ASWW (Associate)
  • FSWW (Fellow)
  • SWW (Companion)
  • SWW (Honorary)
Each membership grade denotes its holders experience and is an assurance to the public that the Will Writer or Estate Planner that they are engaging with is trained, insured and SWW code compliant. We always encourage members of the public to ask their Will Writer if they are a Member of the SWW, and any Member would be happy to present their membership ID card as proof. The public can also rely on checking any Member’s credentials by contacting SWW head office.

Meet Sam Smith – Head of Membership

Sam manages the membership team here at the SWW. He is responsible largely for Member recruitment and handling enquiries from Members. As well as liaising with Society partners and third parties, he also looks after our 20 regional chairs. Sam is always on hand at SWW events to meet and greet. In Sam’s downtime, he enjoys going to the gym, restoring his camper van, and playing golf. Sam is the point of contact between the SWW and Todays Wills & Probate. If you have any enquiries, you can contact Sam by emailing him at sam.s@willwriters.com or calling the office on 01522 687 888 and he would be more than happy to assist.

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