iTunes inheritance

After you die, who gets your digital albums and collection of leatherbound e-books?

September 10, 2012

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Favourite vinyl albums and hardcover books are often left to loved ones after death, but how to divide your ebook collection or iTunes library?

Customers who buy digital content from Amazon and Apple only own a non-transferable licence to use the digital files, not the files themselves—meaning the ability to use the content may expire when you do.

Some jurisdictions allow access to email or social networking accounts to be passed on after death but such laws don’t cover digital files. You could just leave someone your iPad or your iTunes password, but things get tricky if you want to divide your collection.

To protect digital assets, one Florida lawyer, David Goldman, is marketing a new software program called DAP (digital asset protection) Trust to help estate planners create a legal digital trust.

He says it will allow clients to bequeath online accounts without violating licence terms. Maybe one day your grandkids can mockingly browse your e-library of 50 Shades books and Justin Bieber albums.

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Julia Johnson

Julia has worked for many magazines but her favourite remains Green Team, an environmental publication she ran from her treehouse in the summer of 1993. She confidently led a small staff of neighbourhood kids and all magazine work since has been an attempt to recapture the glory of that perfect summer. She hosts and produces the pop culture podcast, The Thrill.