Documents

Digital Assets and Online Accounts

  • documents
작성
The Estate Guide Research Desk
검토
Editorial standards review
최종 검토일
관할권
United States (general; state law varies)

간단한 설명

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.

더 깊이 알아보기

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.

일반적으로 검토하는 사람

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.

Tax lens

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.

흔한 실수

  1. Unsafe credential storage

  2. No instructions for two-factor authentication

  3. Ignoring monetized accounts

관련 질문 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

최종 검토일August 21, 2026

관할권United 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

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