The rise of digital death: from cyber wills to sharing iTunes from beyond the grave

Sunday 23 September 2012

IT seems there are few areas of modern life which haven't been changed by the digital revolution.

Custom byline text:

By Judith Duffy Now you can ensure your funeral goes exactly as you want it to – even when you’re dead

Now it is even encroaching on how we die. Legal experts are urging Scots to consider what might happen to their "web presence" once they are gone by making a "digital will".

And if you want relatives to know your wishes for your final send-off – from the music to be played to the type of coffin – there is now, inevitably, a new app for that.

Even traditional gravestones are being transformed by the introduction of quick response (QR) codes which can be scanned by smartphones to reveal online biographies of the interred.James Inglis, a partner at Scottish law firm MacRoberts, will discuss the issue of digital wills at an event being held on Tuesday during Glasgow's Social Media Week.He said: "The first thing you want to do is appoint an online executor – there is no point in having someone who never actually goes online as your executor as that is not going to work in practice."It needs to be somebody who actually knows what they are doing, and knows how to deal with online accounts. "You want to give them an idea of what is to happen to your online life should something happen to you. "One of the difficulties is knowing what you are involved in. For example, would they know if you have Facebook or Twitter?"The issue of bequeathing downloaded material has also come under the spotlight following reports that Hollywood actor Bruce Willis had consulted lawyers about establishing a family trust to bypass the fact he is not entitled to bequeath his huge digital music collection to his daughters.Although his wife later denied any such legal moves, it brought attention to the fact that digital content is usually sold through licensing agreements, which means there are no rights to pass it on after death.Inglis said: "It is an issue which I think is going to become more and more relevant to people, especially when downloaded music now outstrips hard copy CDs."If you have got £40,000 of downloaded music, books or whatever it might be, then it's a big asset there and you expect to be able to pass these things on. "With things such as iTunes, you don't have any power to leave that to anyone – it is not yours to give away – so the law is lagging behind the reality of life a bit."Dorset-based funeral director Chester Pearce is now offering £300 QR codes which can be embedded in a gravestone and used to open up web pages showing profiles and pictures of the person laid to rest.Meanwhile, Nathaniel Kurt, a funeral director based in Manchester, has developed an iFuneral app which means users can specify their wishes to the very last detail, on everything from coffins to flowers, as well as adding music from iTunes.The list can then be sent to relatives and friends at a click of a button so they have an idea of what the person would have wanted should the worst happen.Kurt said he was inspired to develop the app after losing close friends and a partner at a young age – and, despite his profession, finding himself having no idea what kind of funeral they would have wanted.He said: " I thought that there has got to be a not-as-serious way of thinking about when the time comes – what you would actually like – and there has to be a way of getting younger people to think about it."If someone is unfortunate enough to go before their parents or anything like that, at least it is giving their parents and friends an idea of what they would have liked. "Unless you are quite elderly, people don't chat about it and when it's not something that has been spoken about, they can be really stuck and think 'what do we do?'."You see everyone on their phones all the time and I thought that must be the way to bridge the gap."

Contextual targeting label:

Block list

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

The rise of digital death: from cyber wills to sharing iTunes from beyond the grave

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED