Digital Assets in an Estate Plan
Digital assets include email, cloud photos, online bank and investment accounts, cryptocurrency, domain names and social media. Texas law lets a fiduciary access them under the Texas Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, but only within limits set by the account terms, your documents and the platform's tools. Name who can access what in your will, trust and power of attorney, and keep a secure inventory of accounts and recovery methods.
What counts
- Email, cloud storage and photo accounts
- Online banking, brokerage and payment apps
- Cryptocurrency and exchange accounts
- Domain names, websites and online businesses
- Social media and subscription accounts
- Loyalty points and digital media, subject to the license terms
How Texas law works
Texas adopted a version of the uniform fiduciary access law. It lets an executor, trustee, agent under a power of attorney or guardian request access to digital assets, subject to the account holder's instructions. Platforms may offer an online tool, such as a legacy contact, that controls access, and the law generally honors those tools first. If no tool is used, your will, trust or power of attorney can grant access. Access to the content of communications usually requires explicit consent in your documents, while a catalog of the account (like a list of senders) is more easily obtained.
Cryptocurrency risks
Crypto can be lost forever if no one knows the keys. A fiduciary cannot recover a wallet that has no accessible seed phrase. Consider a custodial exchange account with a clear beneficiary process, a hardware wallet with secured instructions, or a multi-signature arrangement. Document where keys are stored without writing the keys themselves into a document that is widely shared.
What to put in your documents
- A clause in your will, trust and power of attorney that authorizes your fiduciary to access and manage digital assets.
- Use of platform tools, such as a legacy contact or inactive account manager.
- A private inventory of accounts, usernames and where recovery information is stored.
- Instructions on what to keep, delete or memorialize.
Security matters
Do not put passwords or private keys in your will, which becomes public in probate. Use a password manager with an emergency access feature, or a sealed record kept with your estate planning documents, and tell your fiduciary how to find it. Review the list every year. See durable powers of attorney for the incapacity side.
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Book Free ConsultationFrequently asked questions
Can my executor read my email?
Only if the law, your documents and the platform's terms permit it. Include specific consent in your will or trust if you want it.
What happens to my crypto if I die?
Without access to your keys or exchange account, it may be lost. Plan for access in advance.
Should I put passwords in my will?
No. A probated will is public. Use a secure inventory or password manager.
Do social media accounts pass to heirs?
They are governed by the platform's terms, which often allow memorializing or deleting but not transferring the account.