Inheritance lost through omissions when making a will

Experts have warned that inheritances worth millions of pounds are being lost when people forget to include the passwords to "digital assets" when making a will.

Research commissioned by Remember A Charity revealed that four in five Brits have assets such as bank accounts, Isas and online music collections that require passwords or personal ID numbers.

Britain's digital music catalogue alone is thought to be worth £900 million, meaning that families could miss out on a small fortune if details are not passed on when making a will.

Rob Cope, director at Remember A Charity, commented: ''Bank accounts, music and photograph collections are increasingly stored online. This report shows that we should all take a moment to think about our own digital footprint and who we'll pass it on to."

It was the over-55s surveyed who appeared to value their digital assets more highly than any other age groups, with over 80 per cent of older respondents claiming they hold a strong sentimental, if not financial, value.

Published by Tessa Jones