Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Estate Planning for Gamers

AP - March 15 - When Jerald Spangenberg collapsed and died in the middle of a quest in an online game, his daughter embarked on a quest of her own: to let her father's gaming friends know that he hadn't just decided to desert them.

It wasn't easy, because she didn't have her father's "World of Warcraft" password and the game's publisher couldn't help her. With online gaming and social social networks becoming an increasing part of every day living, they're also becoming something to consider when we die.

A new industry is developing around the idea.

Deathswitch will send out emails if you don't check in periodically.

Slightly Morbid. It also sends e-mail when a member dies, but doesn't rely on them logging in periodically while they're alive. Instead, members have to give trusted friends or family the information needed to log in to the site and start the notification process if something should happen.

A third site is Legacy Locker will charge $30 per year. It will require a copy of a death certificate before releasing information.

(World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It has more 11.5 million monthly subscribers.)

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On the Net:

Deathswitch.com

slightlymorbid.com

Legacylocker.com

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

And VitalLock http://VitalLock.com