Philadelphia, PA – Jennifer L. Zegel, Esq. (LL.M., TEP), a partner and head of Kleinbard’s Trust & Estates Practice, releases the book, Digital Asset Entanglement: Unraveling the Intersection of Estate Laws & Technology, with co-author and the founder of Your Digital Undertaker, Sharon Hartung, Captain (Ret’d), P.Eng., M.Sc., B.Eng., PMP®, CD, TEP, rmc.
Digital Asset Entanglement: Unraveling the Intersection of Estate Laws & Technology, published by Lexis Nexis, focuses on the ways technology has disrupted the traditionally paper-based estate industry and provides a practical client user personas based framework for global advisors and clients alike. The authors illustrate their proposed approach – as well as the importance of digital asset awareness and the challenges associated with managing digital assets – through a comprehensive case study of Quadriga Fintech Solutions, its cryptocurrency exchange, QuadrigaCX, and the estate of its late CEO, Gerald Cotten. Sheona McDonald, a documentary filmmaker who recently released Dead Man’s Switch: A Crypto Mystery – based on QuadrigaCX– provides the introduction for the book. Using Quadriga as a backdrop, this text highlights the potential financial and emotional loss that results from digital assets being undisclosed, physically, or legally inaccessible, or if there is a protracted delay in administration.
Email, social media, cryptoassets and other digital assets are now a significant consideration in estate and succession planning. This book serves as an important introductory reference and case study for a broad range of advisors, educators, and students looking to understand the new frontier of digital assets and address the downstream client implications to everyone associated with the estate industry.
For more information, and to purchase the book, click here.
About the Authors
Sharon Hartung, Captain (Ret’d), P.Eng., M.Sc., B.Eng., PMP®, CD, TEP, rmc, is the founder of Your Digital Undertaker®. With an impressive track record of success in IT management, project management and consulting, she brings a multi-disciplinary approach to better understanding the role of managing digital assets in estate planning and estate administration. Sharon has built and maintained large enterprise systems for entities in the public and financial services sectors, beginning with her time as an aerospace engineering officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force (from which she retired as Captain), followed by a career as an executive and consultant in project management with IBM Global Services. She has published two earlier books on estate planning and digital assets: Your Digital Undertaker: Exploring Death in the Digital Age in Canada and Digital Executor®: Unraveling the New Path for Estate Planning. Sharon holds an M.Sc. in Management of Information Systems and a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification; she is also a Professional Engineer. Sharon is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and has served as a committee member of the STEP Global Digital Assets Special Interest Group.
Jennifer L. Zegel, Esquire, LL.M., TEP, is the Practice Leader of the Trusts and Estates Group at Kleinbard LLC in Philadelphia. While she maintains a traditional estates and trusts practice, she has also developed a specialized focus on estate and business planning and the estate administration of digital assets – a rapidly growing and increasingly complex area. In 2019, Jennifer co-created the Digital Planning Podcast
