Michigan Elder Law Blog

There was a front page article in Saturday's Wall Street Journal about who controls a digital legacy. We previously blogged on this topic in September.

Users of Yahoo email and photo services, as part of their terms of service that they agree to, expressly agree that their account won't be transferred without their explicit permission. To ensure their account transfers at death, users need to provide consent and their account information in their estate plans.

Microsoft's Hotmail will not provide families with passwords or control of an account. But with appropriate documentation it will give next of kin the deceased's emails on disc.

How can our readers ensure that their wishes regarding their online legacy/digital assets are respected? By making sure that their wishes are expressly addressed (referencing account name and their consent) in their estate plan. It is also helpful to create a reference guide listing your various accounts, usernames and passwords.

As always, your first call should be to an experienced Michigan estate planning attorney, such as the attorneys at Barsch & Joswick, PLLC, to have to proper estate plan drafted to take into consideration your wishes regarding your online legacy/digital assets. Call today for a free consultation.

We previously blogged on how the French are seeking new ways to manage Alzheimer's care. In a related story, the Chinese are moving to enforce care for older parents.

Some interesting highlights from the law:

1. Children have a responsibility to visit their parents.

2. Requires children to support their elderly parents.

3. Calls for the government to provide services for the elderly population in poverty.

4. Calls for taking the elderly into account in economic planning and urban design..

While the effectiveness of this law is subject to debate, it is interesting to see how other countries are dealing with the treatment of their elderly citizens.

If you have an elderly loved one and would like to meet with an experienced Michigan Elder Law attorney regarding the options available to them, call the attorneys at Barsch & Joswick, PLLC today for a free consultation.