LinkedIn is “LinkedOut” when it comes to estate planning
LinkedIn may not be the largest social network; however, with a specific business focus, it is a platform worth noticing! LinkedIn has an estimated 722 million members, a drastic decrease from the 2.74 billion that Facebook has, with an estimated 44% of Canadians having an account. With so many Canadians on the platform, it raises the question of what happens to your account when you die?
LinkedIn currently does NOT have any pre-planning options in place. After death, the individual with authority to act on behalf of the deceased can request to memorialize or close the account. LinkedIn requires the following information:
• Member’s Full Name
• LinkedIn Profile link/URL
• Your Relationship
• Member’s Email Address
• Date of Death
• Link to an Obituary
• Copy of the member’s Death Certificate
In addition, the following legal documents must be provided to show who has the authority to act on behalf of the deceased member:
• Letters of Administration/Certificate of Appointment
• Letters of Testamentary issued by a court
• Letters of Representation issued by a court
• Other court orders appointing the requestor as an authorized representative for the deceased member’s estate
If the person communicating with LinkedIn is not authorized to act on behalf of the deceased, there is still an option! You can report the person as deceased, which will result in their account being hidden. When an account is hidden, it will no longer be searchable or visible to others on LinkedIn.
To read more about LinkedIn’s policy’s, or to memorialize/close an account, click here
This blog is not intended to be legal advice and should not be relied on as such. If you require legal advice, please contact a legal professional concerning your particular circumstances.
