Illinois Bill Addressing Digital Assets

A bill in the Illinois General Assembly would treat individuals’ social media and other online accounts equivalent to physical assets after death.  Senate Bill 1376 would give a trustee appointed by a court access to the accounts to settle the estate.  However, tech companies such as Yahoo and Facebook say they are concerned with privacy issues surrounding the proposal. 

Senator Michael Hastings is leading a group of lawmakers in trying to determine what happens to a person’s digital data after death in the absence of a will.  Hastings said the proposal is no different than what current law allows with physical assets.  “Looking at somebody’s Dropbox account is no different than going through grandma’s cupboard to settle her will,” said Hastings.  “Grandma may have written a letter back in the day that was kind of crazy, but Dropbox is the same thing as a file cabinet for some people today.”

See Seth A. Richardson, Bill Would Treat Deceased’s Online Accounts Like Physical Assets, The State Journal Register, Apr. 5, 2015.