Summary
Digital assets do not disappear when you die. Email accounts, cloud photos, social media profiles, online businesses, cryptocurrency, payment accounts, domain names, and other electronic records may all require attention during estate administration.
If you live in Buffalo or elsewhere in New York, your estate plan should address both traditional property and the part of your life that exists online. A sound digital estate plan identifies important accounts, gives the right person legal authority, protects passwords and private keys, and explains what should happen to financial, business, and sentimental digital property.
Friedman & Ranzenhofer, PC helps New Yorkers plan for wills, trusts, powers of attorney, probate, and digital assets. You can learn more about estate planning here:
https://www.wny-lawyers.com/buffalo-estate-planning-attorneys/
What Counts as a Digital Asset in New York?
New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law Article 13-A defines a digital asset as an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. The law also makes clear that a digital asset does not automatically include an underlying asset or liability unless that asset or liability is itself an electronic record.
That distinction matters. An online banking portal may contain digital records, account information, and access credentials, while the money in the bank account is a separate financial asset.
Digital assets can include:
- Email accounts
• Cloud storage accounts
• Social media profiles
• Cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets
• Online payment accounts
• Websites and domain names
• Digital photographs and videos
• Digital business records
• Online stores and e-commerce accounts
• Rewards and loyalty accounts
• Files stored on phones, tablets, or computers
Some digital assets have direct financial value. Others matter because they contain family photographs, personal correspondence, creative work, business information, or records that your family may want to preserve.
You can review New York’s statutory definition here:
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EPT/13-A-1
New York Has a Specific Law for Digital Assets
New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law Article 13-A sets rules for fiduciary access to digital assets. A fiduciary can include an executor, administrator, trustee, agent acting under a power of attorney, or guardian.
The law does not give every executor automatic access to every password, private message, or account. Access can depend on the type of digital asset, your directions, the service provider’s procedures, your estate planning documents, the terms of service, and other applicable law.
Article 13-A also recognizes online tools offered by service providers. These may include legacy contact features, inactive account settings, or other tools that let you direct what should happen to an account.
If an online tool allows you to modify or delete your direction at all times, your direction through that tool can override a conflicting direction in a will, trust, power of attorney, or other record.
You can review that rule here:
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EPT/13-A-2.2
Robert Friedman
Michael Ranzenhofer
Justin Friedman
Your Will Should Address Digital Assets, but It Should Not Contain Passwords
Your will can give your executor authority and provide instructions about property, but it is usually not the right place to list passwords, private keys, seed phrases, or recovery codes.
A New York will remains confidential while you are alive. Once the will is admitted to probate, or handled through a small-estate proceeding, it becomes a public document that people can see and read.
For that reason, sensitive credentials should be stored separately in a secure password manager, encrypted file, safe, or another protected location. Your estate plan can tell your executor where to find that information without placing the credentials in the will itself.
Your executor needs both legal authority and practical information. Legal authority without account information can create delays. Account information without proper authority can create legal and privacy problems.
If you are reviewing who should have authority during incapacity, you can learn more here:
https://www.wny-lawyers.com/buffalo-power-of-attorney-lawyer/
Your Digital Estate Plan Should Separate Authority From Access Information
A useful digital estate plan separates two issues:
- Legal authority: Your will, trust, power of attorney, beneficiary directions, and provider tools can help establish who is allowed to act.
- Access information: Your password manager, secure records, private keys, recovery phrases, device passcodes, and account inventory can help the authorized person carry out those instructions.
Do not place sensitive credentials in a document that may later become public. Instead, tell the person you trust where secure access information is stored.
Email and Private Messages May Receive Greater Privacy Protection
New York law treats the content of electronic communications differently from many other digital assets.
An executor seeking the contents of private emails or messages generally needs evidence that the deceased user consented to disclosure, unless a court directs disclosure. A catalogue of communications, which can include information such as the identity of people with whom the user communicated and the time and date of communications, is treated differently from the private content of the messages.
Service providers may request documents such as:
- A death certificate
• A certified copy of the executor’s appointment
• Account identifiers
• Evidence connecting the account to the deceased person
• A court order when required
This is one reason your estate plan should use clear language about access to electronic communications.
New York’s rules for disclosure of digital assets to fiduciaries are found in Article 13-A:
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EPT/A13-AP3
What Happens to Cryptocurrency When You Die?
Cryptocurrency can create estate planning problems because legal ownership and practical access are not the same thing.
If your cryptocurrency is held through an exchange, your executor may be able to follow the exchange’s estate procedures after providing the required documents.
If you hold cryptocurrency in a self-custody wallet, access may depend on a private key, seed phrase, hardware wallet, device, passcode, or other recovery information.
A will cannot recreate a lost private key. If nobody can locate the information needed to control a self-custody wallet, the cryptocurrency may become inaccessible even when your estate is legally entitled to it.
A practical plan should:
- Identify that cryptocurrency exists
• State who should receive it
• Identify the exchange, wallet, or general storage method
• Explain where secure access instructions can be found
• Keep private keys and seed phrases outside the will
The goal is to preserve access without exposing sensitive credentials.
Online Businesses, Websites, and Domain Names Need Succession Planning
If you own a business in Buffalo or elsewhere in New York, your digital assets may include a domain name, website, e-commerce account, customer database, online payment processor, cloud bookkeeping system, email platform, or social media profile that produces revenue.
If only you know the passwords or control two-factor authentication, your death or incapacity can create immediate operational problems.
Your business succession plan should identify:
- Which digital accounts are essential
• Who may manage those accounts
• Where access information is stored
• How two-factor authentication can be transferred or recovered
• Whether the business should continue, be sold, or be wound down
• How digital instructions fit with an operating agreement, trust, will, or other succession document
Trust planning may also be useful for certain assets and long-term management needs. Learn more here:
https://www.wny-lawyers.com/buffalo-living-trust-attorneys/
Do Digital Purchases Pass to Your Heirs?
Not every item in an online account is property that you can transfer freely.
Some digital content is owned. Other content is licensed under a service provider’s terms. E-books, music, software, gaming content, subscription libraries, loyalty points, and similar items may be subject to restrictions that affect whether they can be transferred after death.
New York’s digital asset law does not give a fiduciary greater property rights than you had. Fiduciary authority can also remain subject to terms of service, copyright law, and other applicable law.
Before assuming that a digital purchase can pass to another person, review the provider’s terms and the nature of the right you actually own.
A Digital Asset Inventory Can Reduce Confusion for Your Family
A useful inventory does not need to contain every password. Its main purpose is to tell a trusted person what exists and where to begin.
Consider listing:
- Email and cloud storage accounts
• Online banking and investment portals
• Cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets
• Payment services
• Social media profiles
• Websites and domain names
• Online stores and business platforms
• Digital photographs and videos
• Rewards and loyalty accounts
• Devices that contain important files
• Password managers and secure storage systems
For each item, record the provider, the general type of asset, the intended person or purpose, and where secure access information can be found.
Review the inventory after major changes involving your accounts, business, family, devices, or estate plan.
Your family cannot manage an account that nobody knows exists. A clear inventory and clear legal authority can prevent avoidable delays.
What an Executor May Need to Do After Your Death
After your death, your executor or administrator may need to identify digital accounts, determine whether you left instructions, review provider-specific legacy tools, gather legal documents, and make formal requests for access, disclosure, transfer, or closure.
New York law generally requires a custodian to comply no later than 60 days after receiving the information required under Article 13-A. If the custodian does not comply, a fiduciary or designated recipient may apply to the court for an order directing compliance.
The custodian can also have options concerning how it provides access. Depending on the circumstances, it may provide full account access, partial access, or a copy of qualifying digital assets.
You can review the New York custodian compliance rule here:
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EPT/13-A-4.2
Digital assets can become part of the same probate and estate administration process as bank accounts, real estate, debts, and tangible property. Learn more about New York probate here:
https://www.wny-lawyers.com/new-york-probate-lawyers/
Five Steps to Add Digital Assets to Your Estate Plan
A practical digital estate plan can begin with five steps:
- Make an inventory of your important digital accounts and property.
- Review legacy contact, inactive-account, and similar settings offered by service providers.
- Update your will, trust, and power of attorney so digital assets and electronic communications are addressed when appropriate.
- Keep passwords, private keys, seed phrases, and recovery information in a secure location outside your will.
- Tell the person you trust where the inventory and secure access instructions can be found.
These steps can help your chosen fiduciary understand what exists, what authority the fiduciary has, and where to find the information needed to act.
Speak With a Buffalo Estate Planning Attorney About Digital Assets
Digital assets can affect probate, business succession, family records, privacy, cryptocurrency, and the transfer of valuable property. They should be addressed as part of your estate plan rather than left for your family to sort out after your death.
Friedman & Ranzenhofer, PC has provided legal counsel to New Yorkers since 1955. The firm can review how your online accounts, cryptocurrency, digital records, electronic communications, will, trust, and power of attorney work together.
To discuss your estate plan, call 716-333-5144 or visit:
https://www.wny-lawyers.com/contact-us/
Main office:
1 Seneca St Floor 29, M-8
Buffalo, NY 14203
This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult an attorney about your specific situation.
