Most Elk Grove residents think about their home, retirement accounts, and bank balances when they consider what their estate plan needs to address. Fewer think about the cryptocurrency wallet, the PayPal account, the email archive, the cloud storage full of irreplaceable photos, or the social media presence that exists entirely online. These are digital assets, and without specific planning, the people you want to access them after your death may have no legal way to do so.
What California Law Defines as a Digital Asset
California adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, codified at California Probate Code § 870 et seq. Under this law, a digital asset is an electronic record in which a person has a right or interest, which covers an enormous range of property:
- Cryptocurrency and digital currency accounts
- Online financial accounts including PayPal, Venmo, and investment platforms
- Email accounts
- Social media accounts
- Cloud storage containing photos, documents, and files
- Online business accounts and domain names
- Digital media libraries including music, books, and subscriptions
The law addresses who can access these assets after the owner’s death or incapacity and under what conditions. Without express authorization from the account holder, most platforms will deny access even to immediate family members.
How California Law Determines Fiduciary Access
California’s digital asset law establishes a three-tier priority system for determining whether a fiduciary like a trustee or executor can access a digital account:
First, any online tool provided by the custodian platform that allows the user to designate a person to access the account after death controls. Google Inactive Account Manager and Facebook Legacy Contact are examples.
Second, when no online tool designation exists, the terms of the account holder’s will, trust, or power of attorney govern. A document that specifically authorizes a fiduciary to access digital assets provides the legal basis the platform needs to grant access.
Third, when neither of the above exists, the platform’s terms of service determine what happens. In most cases, that means the account is locked or deleted.
What Your Elk Grove Estate Plan Should Say About Digital Assets
An Elk Grove estate planning lawyer incorporates digital asset planning through several mechanisms:
- Explicit language in the trust or will authorizing the trustee or executor to access, manage, transfer, or terminate digital accounts
- A separate digital asset inventory document maintained privately that lists accounts, access credentials, and the account holder’s wishes for each
- Use of platform-specific legacy designation tools where available
- Specific cryptocurrency instructions, since cryptocurrency requires access to private keys and seed phrases and leaves no recovery option if those are lost
Cryptocurrency deserves particular attention. Unlike a bank account where the institution can assist with access, cryptocurrency held in a self-custody wallet is gone forever if the private key is not passed to successors in a way they can actually use.
Why This Planning Matters More Each Year
The value held in digital form is growing for most California families. An estate plan written five years ago almost certainly didn’t address the digital accounts that exist today. Reviewing your Elk Grove estate planning lawyer relationship and your current plan to confirm digital assets are addressed is worth doing now rather than leaving it as a problem for your family to solve later.
Yee Law Group Inc. works with Elk Grove and Sacramento area families on comprehensive estate plans that address the full scope of assets clients own today. Reach out to discuss what your digital asset picture looks like and how your plan should address it.
