Page 66 • The HERALD • 29th January 2026 v THE HERALD - Proud to be part of your community v ASK A PROFESSIONAL Digital Assets vs Physical Assets - Law Updated Advice from Jasper Vincent Solicitors During December a signi cant but under-advertised update to the law took place a ecting Wills and probate. It modernised an outdated area of law where previously digital assets fell into a vague and unhelpful legal hinterland. Now instead, digital assets are treated just like any other physical asset considered to be “personal property”. is change has been welcomed by most practitioners as it simpli es a system that was desperate for legal reform. e new law responsible for the update is: “ e Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025”. Although an extremely short act of law, its wording covers a great deal of ground. e precise wording of the law means that a digital or purely electronic asset is treated as “a thing” even if the asset is not “a thing in possession” nor “a thing in action”. e legal wording here might seem almost comically vague and woolly to a layperson, but the terminology makes more sense when broken down with a lawyer. A “thing in possession” has historically meant tangible things, for instance a stamp collection, a classic car or a Ming vase. ey would o en be called chattels in a Will, a term going back to old French that loosely meant ‘goods, wealth and possessions’. A “thing in action”, by contrast, has historically meant any right someone might have over property, especially a right that can only be enforced by taking legal action such as suing someone. is is more abstract of an idea, but it makes sense that people would o en want their rights over land and assets to pass down to their successors in their Wills. Electronic and digital assets are obviously not tangible, so they used to fail the rst limb of the test above. Now that is no longer the case, it will hopefully simplify probate work for the minority of people who might otherwise struggle to deal with digital assets as an executor in a Will. For an initial Will or probate consultation, feel free to contact partner Angela Pelleschi and senior associate solicitor Edward Kennard at Jasper Vincent’s Waterside o ce on: 023 8089 0919. NFBP Business Support Programme New Forest Business Partnership (NFBP) have a really useful programme of business support and networking events, open to everybody and aimed at providing training for local businesses across a variety of essential skills. e programme includes a mix of both online and in person events - and many of them are free of charge. New Forest Business Support Hour: Join in an informal one hour networking meeting – an opportunity to update each other on how your businesses are progressing, to meet new people and to ask each other questions in a relaxed setting. You do need to book your FREE place by 3pm on the day. You will then receive an email before the meeting starts with the Zoom meeting ID and password to enable you to join the meeting online. e next sessions are taking place on Wednesday 4th February, Wednesday 11th February and Wednesday 18th February, 4pm–5pm. Other NFBP events: LinkedIn Local New Forest, Thursday 5th February 12noon– 2pm at the Dri Inn, Beaulieu Road, £25. Business Brie ng – Ambitions Workshop, Wednesday 11th February, 10.30am–1pm, at Balmer Lawn Hotel in Brockenhurst, £5. Business Breakfast, Thursday 12th February, 7.30am–9.30am, Forest Park Country Hotel in Brockenhurst, £29. For more information and to book a place on any of the above events please visit: www.n p.org.uk
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