Keeping score
STEP, through its Digital Assets Global Special Interest Group (SIG), has produced the first edition of the STEP Digital Legacy Scorecard (the Scorecard).[1] The Scorecard is a tool conceived for assessing the level of difficulty of getting timely access to a user’s account with a service provider based on the service provider’s terms of service agreement (ToSA) in the event of the user’s death or incapacity.
How does it work?
The Scorecard rates service providers on a series of basic requirements. These include:
- having clear and publicly displayed criteria for determining what events trigger an account to be deemed inactive;
- the provisions for account holders to pre-determine options that allow access for a fiduciary or designated recipient in the event of death or incapacity; and
- the amount of attention and publicity present in the platform to promote among its users an awareness of this type of planning feature.
In addition, the criteria then evaluated for each Scorecard merit category are as follows:
- Bronze level: Sufficient communication and explanation of legacy options of a user’s account.
- Silver level: Additional support is offered by a service provider in accessing a user’s account, such as consultations or access channels for fiduciaries/advisors.
- Gold level: A fully integrated platform that covers all aspects of estate planning and the administration and distribution of a user’s account on both incapacity and death.
To advance to the next merit category, a service provider must meet all of the requirements in the previous merit category.
Service provider scores
The following providers were rated in August 2023 by STEP’s expert panel:
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