Digital Assets
Your digital life after you're gone: accounts, passwords and creator income
By Frank Stucki, Esq., MBA
Quick answer
Your email, photos, social accounts, crypto and creator income won't automatically pass to your family just because you have a will. Nevada, California, Washington and Utah each have a digital-assets law that lets you choose who can access what, and a platform's own legacy tool can take priority over your will.
What counts as a digital asset?
More than most people think:
- Email, cloud storage and photo libraries
- Social media and messaging accounts
- Domain names, websites and online stores
- Cryptocurrency wallets and exchange accounts
- Creator accounts: video channels, podcasts, subscriptions, affiliate and ad revenue
- Loyalty points, airline miles and stored balances
- Password managers and two-factor authentication devices
Some have real dollar value. Others have sentimental value that's impossible to replace.
Why isn't my will enough?
Two reasons. First, most platforms' terms of service limit who can access an account. Second, federal and state privacy laws restrict disclosure of the content of your communications.
To bridge that gap, all four states adopted a version of the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act:
| State | Law |
|---|---|
| Nevada | NRS Chapter 722 (user direction at NRS 722.310) |
| California | Probate Code § 870 and following, added by AB 691 (2016) |
| Washington | Chapter 11.120 RCW (user direction at RCW 11.120.040) |
| Utah | Utah Code 75A-6-104 (renumbered into new Title 75A, "Fiduciaries," in 2024) |
How do these laws decide who gets access?
They use a three-tier order, and the tiers matter:
- The platform's online tool comes first. If a service offers a legacy or inactive-account tool and you use it, that direction generally overrides a contrary instruction in your will, trust or power of attorney (NRS 722.310; RCW 11.120.040; Utah Code 75A-6-104).
- Your estate planning documents come next. If you didn't use an online tool, or none exists, your will, trust, power of attorney or other record can allow or prohibit disclosure.
- Terms of service fill the gaps. If you left no direction, the platform's terms generally control.
The practical lesson: set up the legacy tools you use, and make sure they match your estate plan.
What about the content of my messages?
These laws treat the content of emails and messages differently from a catalog of who you communicated with. Generally, a personal representative can get content only if you consented, through an online tool or your estate plan. Without consent, your family may be able to close an account but not read it.
How do I plan for creator income?
If you earn money online, treat it like a small business:
- Know where the money flows. List each platform, payout account and tax form.
- Consider a business entity. Holding accounts and contracts in an LLC can make transfer easier than a personal login.
- Address intellectual property. Your videos, writing and music may keep earning after you're gone. Your will or trust can say who owns them.
- Name a digital executor. Choose someone comfortable with the technology, and give them clear legal authority.
What about crypto?
Crypto is unforgiving. If no one can access your private keys or recovery phrase, the assets may be unrecoverable. Your plan should say where access information is stored, without putting secrets in your will, which can become a public court record.
What is a digital-assets end-of-life directive?
Signature Law offers a digital-assets end-of-life directive that works alongside your will or trust. It:
- Inventories your accounts by category
- Grants your fiduciary consent under your state's digital-assets law
- Says which accounts to memorialize, transfer, archive or delete
- Points to where access information is safely kept
It's offered for residents of California, Nevada, Utah and Washington.
FAQ
No. Wills can become public. Use a password manager with an emergency-access feature and reference it in your plan.
Often yes, if you've given consent through a legacy tool or your estate plan. Without consent, it may be much harder.
It depends on the platform's terms and how the account is owned. Planning ahead helps it keep paying the right people.
Sources
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Questions about your situation? Frank Stucki, Esq., MBA handles flat-fee legal work in Nevada, Washington, Utah and California.