STEP Thought Leadership Report - Digital Assets: A call to action

Digital Assets: A Call to Action explains how online accounts and digital property have become a routine but difficult part of estate planning. Based on a survey of more than 500 STEP members worldwide, it shows how families and advisers struggle to deal with social media, email, cloud storage, and cryptocurrencies after death or incapacity, often facing access problems, inconsistent platform rules, and emotional stress when photos and messages are locked away.

The report then sets out a practical response for advisers, service providers, and policymakers. It calls for clearer education, better cooperation with major tech platforms, and targeted law reform, along with concrete suggestions on will clauses, pre-planning tools such as legacy contacts, and safer ways to manage logins. Open the full PDF for survey data, practitioner comments, and specific steps you can apply in your own practice.

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