Digital heirlooms and subsequent legal issues

Increasingly, ownership of digital assets and resources will form part of estates and, at present, there exists a “real conflict” in how those heirlooms will be treated, as compared to traditional assets like property. The evolving legal landscape, one principal says, requires a different approach to thinking about legal advice.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Tiyce & Lawyers principal Michael Tiyce about the struggles Australian legislation currently has with digital heirlooms and why, the flow-on issues for successful planning and wills and estates, the increased use and ownership of digital assets, and the consequences for lawyers on the ground given the state of affairs.

Tiyce also reflects on the extent of cynicism from and a lack of education for Australians when it comes to digital assets, the potential for unjust outcomes in disputes, recommendations to standardise rights and procedures when it comes to digital records and assets, how lawyers can better serve and advocate for clients in the absence of such reform, employing a different way of thinking about property, and what will constitute best practice for lawyers moving forward.

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