Mother Finds Comfort After Daughter’s Death Through Facebook

In a recent TIME article written by Gaelle Faure, the tragedy of daughter’s death is told. Like many parents of teenagers and young adults, Pam Weiss has never had a social networking account of any kind. Many older generations have remained reluctant to create a Facebook or MySpace account due to their lack of technological expertise. However, any lack of expertise did not stop Weiss from turning to Facebook when her daughter died in a sledding accident back in 2007. Knowing that her daughter, a UCLA student, had an account with Facebook prompted Weiss to use the social network to find photos memorializing her daughter. Before long Weiss was reliving several memories her daughter shared with friends through the contacts Weiss made online.

Back in 2007, Facebook’s policy was to take down the profile of a deceased user 3 months after their death. Since that time, Facebook has amended their policy to allow loved ones a way of honoring the deceased. This policy sends the profile into a memorial state in which many features such as status updates are removed. No friends can be added, and only the friends of the deceased on the day of their death may view the profile. Facebook also seals the profile from any future log-in attempts but leaves the wall open for family and friends to pay their respects.

As the online presence of individuals continues to grow, more and more information that was once written on paper is stored digitally. To ensure these memories are not lost forever in cyberspace, you should take action now. The best option is create a Digital Asset Protection Trust that would incorporate your digital assets in your Florida Estate Plan. Permitting an experienced Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to help to achieve your goals will guarantee your digital assets are kept safe.