Illinois Digital Estate Plan

There is not an honorable man among its practitioners who would not give - who does not often give - the warning, "Suffer any wrong that can be done you rather than come here!"



The nightmare that probate can cause for heirs, even with a Will, was memorialized in the fictional portrayal of Bleak House by Charles Dickens in 1853 (Chapter I) where the narrator of the book, through the quote above, advises the reader to stay away from probate proceedings.



If you are single without children, what happens to your pets, money, assets, and property when you die? If you pass away without a Will, a probate judge decides who should administer your estate and may leave property distribution to people who don't have your best interests in mind. A Will is one way to speak while you are still living with your own written instructions, such as:



- Name a guardian for your pets and leave money for their care

- Itemize property to be given to multiple beneficiaries

- Decide what happens to your condo, house, or vehicle

- Leave instructions about digital assets, such as cryptocurrency or NFTs

- Make funeral arrangements



Some scenarios are straightforward, such as an only child leaving behind one or both parents. They inherit everything, which is even easier if still married to each other. But what happens if you have siblings, your parents are deceased, or you have very close friends who are not legal relatives? You may think that your significant other has status, especially if you are living together or even engaged. The opposite is true. Your friends and relatives can delete the most important people in your life while ransacking your property and assets for their personal gain … or revenge.



It's possible that relatives you have never met or don't even like are awarded portions of your property. People you don't even know may make decisions that you would never approve.



An important strategy is a digital estate plan, like an enhanced Will. What happens to all your social media content, online photos, movies, or music? A Will allows you to expressly name a data executor and provide this person with your login credentials to access all of your accounts in accordance with your instructions. Without a Will, a probate judge may not approve, and tech companies may not allow, your friends or family to close, or otherwise access, these accounts.



Also discussed is your digital afterlife where tech companies can use artificial intelligence (AI) to bring you back to life through a virtual avatar trained with your life’s worth of photos, videos, audio, and online activity (i.e. social media). This includes a brief tutorial for artificial intelligence writing your Will without an attorney using AI chatbot platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini).



Sample fill-in-the-blank examples included are:



- Basic non-notarized Will that gives all property to one beneficiary

- Extended non-notarized Will that itemizes specific assets to different beneficiaries

- Notarized versions of both basic and extended Wills

- Notarized Self-Proving Affidavit for the two witnesses to authenticate the Will

- Username and Password Organizer to help family and friends access digital assets

- Instructions and representative Illinois statutes that pertain to a Will



The author, Michael E. Byczek, has been a licensed Illinois attorney since 2007 (Chicago, IL). He manages his own legal business (https://byczeklaw.com) and has assisted clients to prepare their estate plans and protect the rights of heirs during probate in court.