Documents

Digital Assets and Online Accounts

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Rédigé par
The Estate Guide Research Desk
Révisé par
Editorial standards review
Dernière révision
Juridiction
United States (general; state law varies)

Explication simple

Digital-asset planning coordinates legal consent, fiduciary authority, provider tools, security, and practical instructions for online accounts, devices, cryptocurrency, files, and intellectual property.

A password list is not legal authority
A password list alone may not provide legal authority.
Provider tools interact with your documents
Provider online tools can interact with wills, trusts, and powers of attorney.
Keep seed phrases and passwords out of a will
Do not place seed phrases or live passwords in a public will.
Keep the access list apart from the legal authority
Separate an asset/access inventory from the legal authorization and keep both current.

The four parts of a working plan

  1. People Identify the owner, decision-makers, fiduciaries, and beneficiaries.
  2. Property Map title, contract rights, debts, tax attributes, and practical access.
  3. Documents Coordinate wills, trusts, powers, directives, and beneficiary forms.
  4. Review Revisit the plan after life, ownership, law, tax, or relationship changes.
A general educational sequence. A real matter can follow a different path.

Approfondir

Online accounts, files and devices need both legal permission and practical access. This guide separates the two and explains how provider tools interact with wills, trusts and powers of attorney.

Qui s'y intéresse généralement

People whose photos, correspondence and records live in the cloud, owners of domain names or monetized channels, and executors locked out of a decedent's phone.

Prisme fiscal

Digital property can carry real tax consequences. Cryptocurrency, domain names and online businesses are valued in the gross estate and take a basis under IRC § 1014, so records of cost and income matter as much as access.

Erreurs courantes

  1. Unsafe credential storage

  2. No instructions for two-factor authentication

  3. Ignoring monetized accounts

Questions sur Digital Assets and Online Accounts

Does state law matter?

Usually. Document execution, probate, spousal rights, creditor rules, trust administration, and state tax treatment can vary by jurisdiction.

What should be verified before acting?

Verify the current governing instrument, title and beneficiary records, applicable state law, current tax year, primary authority, and advice from appropriately qualified professionals.

Sources

Dernière révisionAugust 21, 2026

JuridictionUnited States (general; state law varies)

  1. Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets ActUniform Law Commission · United States (general; state law varies)
  2. IRS digital-asset resourcesInternal Revenue Service · United States—federal tax

Les sources étayent les informations éducatives générales à la date de révision indiquée. Les documents officiels sont susceptibles d'évoluer, et les liens vers les sources ne remplacent pas une analyse professionnelle adaptée à chaque situation particulière. Ne constitue pas un conseil juridique, fiscal, d'investissement ou comptable.