by Sarah J. Doyle
Denise Hoyle is a certified real estate appraiser. She is also an expert in the field of internet domain names.
For over 13 years Mrs. Hoyle, owner of her own appraisal office, and holding licenses in several states, has been appraising real estate for lending institutions as well as for estate purposes and financial planning portfolios.
Hoyle is quick to point out, however, that land and homes are not the only things that need to be appraised and included in estate planning. It is not uncommon for individuals to be the owners of one or more domain names, and more than 31.5 million domain names have been registered, since they first became available.
Here Mrs. Hoyle points out a sobering statistic. Of the 31.5 million registered domain names nearly 67% registered to date have been deleted for non-renewal. "The frightening thing here is the question of how many of those deleted names were money making web sites, or valuable domain names that simply got deleted because the owner forgot to renew the name, or perhaps was sick or in the hospital and unable to get it renewed on time".
Your domain name is YOUR piece of cyber real estate, just like a piece of land or house you own and should be treated in the same way. For example, just as you keep up the insurance on your home and provide for it in your will, you should keep your domain registration information current and include it in your estate.
As the co-owner, with her husband, of over 300 domain names, Mrs. Hoyle knows and keeps up with domain name statistics. She quotes a recent landmark case where the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has stated that "domain names, despite their virtual nature, should be treated exactly as a 'plot of land' would be". She says this is a huge victory for all domain name registrants, not just for Gary Kremen who can now continue his lawsuit against Network Solutions for allowing the theft of his Sex.com domain name. Network Solutions, Inc. (NSI) had argued that domain names are intangible property and therefore they could not be held liable for damages (Kremen vs. Cohen Case #01-15899).
Hoyle says this ruling means that traditional property protections can now be legally applied to domain names. She then posed a few very timely and provocative questions: "Is your domain name secure? What would happen to it if you should suddenly take ill or pass away? Do you have provisions made in your will as to who will take over the running and management of the website or domain name and insure that it gets renewed each year?"
As a real estate appraiser, domain name appraiser, and author of "The Dot Comment" book, Mrs. Hoyle asks "do you know the value of YOUR domain name and/or website? Have you ever had it appraised to see what the actual value is?" A domain name should certainly be part of your estate, just like your house, bank accounts and insurance policies.
"If you've never had your domain name appraised, nor added it to your estate," she continues, "You could be in jeopardy of losing a valuable part of your loved ones inheritance. Your domain name or web site could be worth several thousand dollars or several hundred thousand dollars. Consider the loss that would be sustained if no one but you knew the particulars of the domain name or web site, and at renewal time it got 'dropped' because you weren't there to renew it!"
You may contact Mrs. Hoyle directly at CEO@GetItAppraised.com with any questions or for further information, or visit her site at http://getitappraised.com
Sarah J. Doyle owns and operates http://YouCanWorkAtHomeNow.com along with five other craft and business web sites.
(c) Copyright 2003, Sarah J. Doyle. All Rights Reserved.
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