More people may be encouraged to make appointments with Stockport wills and probate solicitors to make their last wishes known as a result of Facebook rolling out its legacy contacts feature in the UK.
Managing director of SunLife Dean Lamble welcomed Facebook’s decision to allow people to name an online executor to manage their profile after they pass on, saying that it may encourage more people to think about death.
“Less than half of us have a will (43 per cent) and this means most of the population will have no say in how their assets are divided when they die. However, there is no reason for death to be a taboo subject,” he remarked.
On Facebook, you can now opt to have your account memorialised so that people can come together in one place to share photographs, stories and memories of you after you’ve died. There are several key features available, including having the word ‘Remembering’ next to your picture and name on your profile. Furthermore, any content that you shared on the social media network while you were still alive will remain visible on the site and still be available to those you shared it with.
The person you choose to act as your legacy contact will be able to write pinned posts on your page, update your cover photos and profile pictures, and also respond to any new friend requests that come in.
What they will not be able to do is log into your account as you would have done, read messages sent to other friends or remove or change anything shared on your timeline.