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What Happens to Facebook (and More) When You Die

P. Kristen BennettConsider this: Your Facebook account is likely to outlive you. Do you really want your friends and family to have access to it? What about emails, tweets and online posts? Maybe these accounts contain items of sentimental or monetary value to your family and friends. Or maybe they’re just embarrassing information you would rather have deleted than shared.

On the other hand, imagine contacting Flickr to access your deceased spouse’s photos and learning the account was automatically deleted, along with all of the memories stored there. Flickr’s policy, and that of hundreds of digital providers, is to delete a user’s account upon notification of death.

P. Kristen Bennett - Trusts & Estates Attorney

Kristen Bennett is a member of Gawthrop Greenwood’s Estates and Trusts Department, and practices in the Wilmington, Delaware office. She focuses her practice on estate planning and administration and trust administration. She also provides counsel on taxation and tax planning for businesses.

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