Digital Assets and Online Legacy: An Essential Planning Conversation
By Jeff Gilchrist CAP®
For many clients, some of their most valuable assets no longer sit in a safe deposit box or filing cabinet. They exist online.
Digital assets encompass far more than cryptocurrency. They include online banking and brokerage accounts, cloud-based records, intellectual property, business interests tied to websites or digital platforms and personal content — such as photographs, correspondence and social media profiles — which is becoming more prominent. Despite their prevalence, these assets are often overlooked in estate planning, creating avoidable administrative burdens, delays and, in some cases, permanent loss.
As advisors, helping clients address their digital lives is becoming just as important as planning for traditional assets.
More Than Cryptocurrency
When people hear the phrase “digital assets,” they often think first of cryptocurrency. While digital currency presents unique planning challenges, the category is much broader.
Many clients maintain substantial portions of their personal and financial lives online. Banking and brokerage relationships may exist almost entirely through digital platforms. Important records may be stored in cloud-based systems. Businesses may generate income through websites, online marketplaces or social media channels. Even family photographs and personal correspondence may exist only in electronic form.
Some digital assets have clear financial value while others carry significant sentimental value. Both deserve attention during the planning process.
The Access Problem
Unlike traditional property, digital assets often create an additional challenge: access.
A client may legally own an asset, but ownership alone does not guarantee that family members, trustees, agents under a power of attorney or personal representatives will be able to access it when needed.
Service providers frequently impose their own terms of service, privacy protections and account access procedures. As a result, fiduciaries can encounter substantial obstacles even when they possess valid legal authority.
The issue becomes even more pronounced when credentials are unavailable. A valuable cryptocurrency wallet, for example, may become permanently inaccessible if private keys cannot be located. Likewise, important family records stored in cloud services may remain locked behind authentication systems that survivors cannot navigate.
For many families, the challenge is not determining who should receive a digital asset — it is determining how to access it in the first place.
The Legal Landscape
Most jurisdictions have adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), which establishes a framework for fiduciary authority. The statute generally prioritizes user-directed instructions provided through online account settings or service provider tools over contrary instructions in estate planning documents.
Where no such instructions exist, governing documents may grant fiduciary authority, but practical access remains subject to provider policies and the nature of the underlying data.
The practical takeaway is straightforward: authority should be addressed intentionally rather than assumed.
Building Digital Asset Planning into Client Conversations
Digital asset planning does not necessarily require a separate engagement. In many cases, it can be incorporated into existing estate planning reviews.
A useful starting point is simply asking clients where their important information and accounts reside. Many clients have never considered how a fiduciary would locate or access their online accounts.
Clients should also be encouraged to maintain a current inventory of significant digital assets. This inventory does not need to include passwords themselves, but it should identify important accounts and indicate where access information can be found.
Equally important is ensuring that powers of attorney, trusts and estate planning documents contain appropriate language authorizing fiduciaries to manage digital assets when necessary.
Cryptocurrency Considerations
Cryptocurrency warrants particular attention due to its combination of high value and heightened access risk.
Control is generally tied to possession of private keys rather than to institutional recordkeeping. As a result, there is typically no recourse if access credentials are lost.
Planning in this area should focus on the secure storage of access information, the ability of a trusted individual to locate that information and clarity regarding the procedures required to access the asset.
The goal is to balance security and accessibility. Overly accessible information may increase theft risk, while overly restrictive systems may leave heirs unable to recover the assets.
Digital Legacy and Personal Wishes
Not every digital asset is financial.
Social media accounts, online photo libraries, blogs, websites and other digital content frequently carry emotional significance for surviving family members. Clients may have strong preferences regarding whether accounts should be memorialized, preserved, transferred or deleted.
Professional reputation can also be a consideration. Business owners, attorneys, physicians and other professionals often maintain extensive online profiles that continue to exist long after death unless someone is empowered to manage them.
Discussing these preferences in advance can help families avoid uncertainty and conflict during an already difficult time.
Opportunities for Collaborative Planning
Digital asset planning often benefits from collaboration among multiple advisors.
Attorneys may address fiduciary authority and document provisions. Financial advisors may help identify online investment and cryptocurrency holdings. CPAs may understand digital business interests and income streams. Technology professionals may assist with secure storage and credential management.
When advisors work together, clients are more likely to have a comprehensive plan that addresses both legal authority and practical access.
Looking Ahead
As more of our financial, professional and personal lives move online, digital assets will continue to play an increasingly important role in estate planning.
For advisors, the objective is not simply to identify these assets, but to ensure that trusted individuals can access and manage them in accordance with the client’s wishes. A conversation that takes only a few minutes today may spare families countless hours of frustration — and potentially prevent the loss of valuable assets — in the future.
By incorporating digital asset discussions into regular planning reviews, advisors can help clients create a more complete and effective legacy plan for the digital age.
About the Author
Jeff Gilchrist, CAP®
Senior Advisor, Charitable Estate Planning
Jeff is based in Pheonix, Arizona and serves AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, AR, CO, NM, OK, TX, WY
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