Online Poker Accounts and Wills

[Sark79]

Earlier when I was eating my dinner, I was flicking through a leaflet that was handed to me this afternoon while in town. The leaflet wasn't about happy things such as holidays or new nightclubs opening. It was about Wills and the importance of having one in place. As I am reasonably young, I hadn't really considered this subject before. But this got me thinking about my lack of organisation and scatty mindedness I generally have. 

My thinking then turned to poker accounts. I quite often watch well known  players on a variety of different sites. Recently one player on Pokestars had $75,000 spread across six tables. Of course many online players have significantly more than this in their accounts. I am obviously not in this position yet and currently have a grand total of 11p.  No, just kidding it is slightly more than that, but not much more. 

What would happen if the unthinkable should happen and a player dies or is badly injured.  It is possible the site concerned would have no idea that such an occurrence had happened.  What would happen to that players funds in their account?   Is there a period whereby the site concerned has to contact a player if their account has laid dormant? .  I recently got an email from Paradise Poker. To be honest I didn't actually remember joining the site the previous May, but I soon realised why I had never played there after I paid a visit to the site. Tikays question in another thread recently goes some way to explaining my lack of interest  " If Blonde is the Custard Cream.  Who is the Brussels Sprout ?".  Paradise is the Brussels Sprout as Nem said.  I agree. 

There must be other players out there who are in a similar position to my own.  None of my family know I play poker and very few of my friends do either.  I keep it quiet as every one of my close friends and family call gamblers  " degenerate scumbags ". Regardless of how hard I try, I haven't manged to persuade them otherwise.  Each to their own.  Of course I am a small time fish, however there must be very big time sharks in cyberspace who keep their poker pursuits a private matter as well. Their family and friends would have no idea of their relatives wealth if they hadn't told anyone. What happens to their money in the event of an untimely death or accident? 

Is a poker site responsible for telling the family of the person concerned?


I know this is quite a gloomy and downbeat post.  I am sorry, but it is something I wanted to know and couldn't find out on google. Maybe I am the only nutter around. 

Here is a nice story. Today in the Independent newspaper there was a great article about the discovery of a new species of penguin. On two separate Islands belonging to France named Amsterdam and St Paul in the Indian Ocean. French Ornithologists have discovered the new species that looks a lot like the rock-hopper penguin. The distinct characteristic that separates the two other than their DNA is that the new species now called the Amsterdam Rock-hopper Penguin has bushier eyebrows.

I loved this story as I am a bit of a sad git and like bird watching. It is all to familiar to turn on the news or pick up a newspaper and read about the many different species on our planet becoming extinct. It is unusual to hear about a new one being discovered.

[TightEnd]

Firstly mate, make a will...its cheap through a solicitor and you don't have to be an old fogey to have one. You never know and all that. Leave the Thomas books to someone special, especially the ones attacked by savage horses, they will have untold collector value posthumously.


Secondly when you decide on executors of the will, say two people, leave a sealed letter with your will with details of any online accounts you have and passwords and then should the worst happen the executors can contact the sites concerned on behalf of your estate.

Simple.

[Sark79]

Firstly mate, make a will...its cheap through a solicitor and you don't have to be an old fogey to have one. You never know and all that. Leave the Thomas books to someone special, especially the ones attacked by savage horses, they will have untold collector value posthumously.


Secondly when you decide on executors of the will, say two people, leave a sealed letter with your will with details of any online accounts you have and passwords and then should the worst happen the executors can contact the sites concerned on behalf of your estate.

Simple.

Yea, thanks. That is good advice. I will look into it.

What happens to a players account that has no will.  How would they know the player had actually died?

[TightEnd]

What happens to a players account that has no will.  How would they know the player had actually died?

If close friends and family are unaware of sums being held in online accounts I assume the money lies there dormant indefinitely.

[Sark79]

Thanks.  I wonder how many cases of this happening there are each year.

[TightEnd]

3742, including 1654 on Stars and 3 on Jetset Poker.

Average age of deceased was 63 and all bar 31 had not even told the missus about their surreptitious online gambling habits.


Source: Which magazine, July 2006

[RED-DOG]

3742, including 1654 on Stars and 3 on Jetset Poker.

Average age of deceased was 63 and all bar 31 had not even told the missus about their surreptitious online gambling habits.


Source: Which magazine, July 2006

Tighty, you are the font of all knowlege

[TightEnd]

thank you. Made up knowledge is my speciality.

[RED-DOG]

thank you. Made up knowledge is my speciality.

Made up compliments are mine 

[bobby1]

It is a very serious topic. I have been gambling and surrounded by gamblers all my life and I know at least 5 friends of mine have 'account buddies'. These are trusted friends that have a list of account id's and passwords should the unthinkable happen. Everytime they get a new account the list gets updated.

I thought this was a good idea and after leaving work this year I made sure my wife knew all my accounts and id's as when I added up how much money I had in online poker accounts, bookmakers and exchanges it came to 21k. I would hate it for our cash to be lost because I hadnt been sensible enough to think about what could happen down the line.

The cash in your account stays dorment as 'sleepers' much the same as betting slips that are not collected in shops although I do remember sorting out a bet for a lady whose husband had died during the 1990 world cup. His bet on Germany was placed in my shop so they can be reclaimed without full id's and slips if you know that cash is in accounts but its not a nice process as proof of death will be required. To be honest I am lucky that my wife knows where my cash will be but a lot of people keep their gambling away from family members and its not like their wife will ring around the bookies to check.

[ifm]

thank you. Made up knowledge is my speciality.

Made up compliments are mine 

 

[Karabiner]

thank you. Made up knowledge is my speciality.

Made up compliments are mine 

I hope we get open goals like this in Germany   

[RED-DOG]

thank you. Made up knowledge is my speciality.

Made up compliments are mine 

I hope we get open goals like this in Germany   

I scored the equaliser from a free kick, now I'm going to defend like mad. I'll be happy with the draw.

[TightEnd]

thank you. Made up knowledge is my speciality.

Made up compliments are mine 

I hope we get open goals like this in Germany   

as long as you are not shooting we'll be fine   

[tikay]

Sark, I am not clever enough to copy pictures from google images, I just tried & it failed, but take a look at "Rockhopper Penguins" in Google Images - maybe someone could copy the pic & Post it in here?