What happens to your domains when you die?

[JuniperPark]

There are some big legal/business issues getting tossed around here that will have different answers depending on the law in your country (or your STATE id you're in the US).

Owning your domains as a corporation (which litterally means you DO NOT own them; you just own stock in the company owns them) will have different results based on whether you are a Class C corp, CLass S corp, or LLC. Which one of those, your heirs get control of your stock (and therefore 'own' your domains), and the others the ownership rolls over to OTHER stockholders, not your heirs -- that's a critical difference. That would also get around the 'death of owner' clause in any registry agreement, since a corp doesn't 'die'.

Another thing I just thought of -- if you do this 'above board' (oficially discussed in legal documents) you could possibly create a 'taxable event', which is what happens in real estate.

IRS: "Sorry your family member died, congrats on inheriting a domain porfolio *we* think is worth $1 million, and we'll be needing a check for $400,000 in estate taxes within 90 days. Thanks!"

 

[Brett Lewis]

Please forgive me if I make this worse before it gets better.

First, in most states, domain names are not considered to be property. The courts have held that they are contract rights. This is not the case in the 9th Circuit, which includes California, Arizona, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and Alaska (I believe).

If you live (and die) in a domain name is contract state, the domain names might be treated differently than in a domain name is property state. Property can be passed on to heirs. I'm not so sure about contract rights. The basic rule is that if a party to a contract dies, the executor or administrator of the estate has to fulfill the deceased party's contractual obligations. That does not clear up, however, what happens at the end of the registration term. If you are dead, you cannot renew unless you have bridged the gap between the physical and spirit worlds, in which case, you may do whatever you want.

Now, if you leave your passwords and email access to a partner or relative, they could access your account and renew the domain names -- and likely push them into a new account.

Placing domian names into a corporation is also something to seriously consider. Corporations survive the death of a shareholder and carry certain liability protections. I am not a corporate attorney, but could recommend a good one if anyone was interested in speaking to him.

As to the best way to handle this for estate purposes, tax implications, etc.,
it's not my field, but my Partner is a wills and estates attorney. If there is any interest, I could bounce some ideas off of her. The difference between domain-as-property and domain-as-contract may also have IRS implications.

Also, please contact me at my email address, not PM, as I do not always check that.

 

[DomainsInc]

Hopefully i'll live long enough to get my son trained in the biz and won't have to worry. Should i die suddenly, it would be nice to give my spouse and parents some money to pay off their house or whatever but like many others have said, they wouldn't have a clue what to do. And it doesn't help that i am very unorganized, lol.

 

[jberryhill]

Domain ID D961073-LROR
Domain Name:WORLDTELEPORT.ORG
Created On:10-Mar-1998 05:00:00 UTC
Last Updated On:14-Feb-2007 16:56:34 UTC
Expiration Date:09-Mar-2016 05:00:00 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Network Solutions LLC (R63-LROR)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:33212036-NSI
Registrant Name:World Teleport Association
Registrant Organization:World Teleport Association
Registrant Street1:2 World Trade Center Suite 215
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:New York
Registrant State/Province:NY
Registrant Postal Code:10048
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.21243220

 

[GAMEFINEST]

Did you check your accounts?

He sold me some cheap names last week.

no wonder he is driving a new car....that little piece of ..:smilewinkgrin:

 

[Dave Zan]

If you are dead

Unless someone's discovered the fountain of youth, that's a big if. :cheeky:

Domain ID D961073-LROR
Domain Name:WORLDTELEPORT.ORG
Created On:10-Mar-1998 05:00:00 UTC
Last Updated On:14-Feb-2007 16:56:34 UTC
Expiration Date:09-Mar-2016 05:00:00 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Network Solutions LLC (R63-LROR)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:33212036-NSI
Registrant Name:World Teleport Association
Registrant Organization:World Teleport Association
Registrant Street1:2 World Trade Center Suite 215
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:New York
Registrant State/Province:NY
Registrant Postal Code:10048
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.21243220

I wonder how many invalid WHOIS reports that domain name got. I sent mine
last week.

 

[VirtualT]

Domain ID D961073-LROR
Domain Name:WORLDTELEPORT.ORG
Created On:10-Mar-1998 05:00:00 UTC
Last Updated On:14-Feb-2007 16:56:34 UTC
Expiration Date:09-Mar-2016 05:00:00 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Network Solutions LLC (R63-LROR)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:33212036-NSI
Registrant Name:World Teleport Association
Registrant Organization:World Teleport Association
Registrant Street1:2 World Trade Center Suite 215
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:New York
Registrant State/Province:NY
Registrant Postal Code:10048
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.21243220

the irony, at least they have till 2016 to teleport back

 

[jberryhill]

I wonder how many invalid WHOIS reports that domain name got. I sent mine
last week.

http://www.dnso.org/dnso/dnsocomments/comments-whois/Arc02/msg00017.html
# From: "John Berryhill" <[email protected]>
# Date: Tue, 7 Jan 2003 22:10:11 -0500

Registrant:
CHINA PATENT & TRADEMARK AGENT (U.S.A.) LTD.
ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER, SUITE 2205
NEW YORK, NY 10048
US
Domain Name: CPTAUSA.COM

 

[companyone]

This is an interesting question...

since it will most likely be domain names that cause my death...because they are "killing me Larry"....LOL (mattress commerical)

Peace,
Dan

 

[Malaysia]

i just thought of this issue few mths ago..compiled my passwords of all my account online..however good thing i read this thread because i never though of leaving behind a note how to manage it .the next successor wud be in dillemma in how to manage it n upkeep it.

i guess i better prepare 2 copies of this password one in the safe deposit box sealed n encrypted wif password only my successor will know.
another one at home wif fireproof n waterproof in case of fire or flood.(u never knows) Then together wif the instructions wud be an instructions manual of how to manage it.. Gosh better start doing today..

 

[Ehsan]

I have thought of this already and i have already compiled my all of online info including passwords for emails accounts in Text Files and also bookmarked my online forum profiles on an online service called claimid.com