Real-world examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills

Examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills in real life

Lawyers like to talk theory. Heirs care about outcomes. So let’s start with real examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills that show up in practice:

• A software engineer dies with seven figures in crypto on a hardware wallet. His will leaves “all digital assets” to his spouse, but never explains where the wallet is or how to access it. The spouse inherits a fortune on paper and nothing in reality.
• A YouTube creator’s channel generates steady ad revenue. After her death, her siblings and partner fight over who controls the Google account, the brand, and the income. The will mentions “online accounts” but not content rights or management.
• A photographer stores 20 years of work in cloud accounts. The will leaves “all photos” to her daughter, but never includes login authority. The provider refuses access under privacy laws.

These are the kinds of examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills that highlight the gap between traditional estate planning and digital reality.

Key examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills and the law

The law has been scrambling to keep up. In the U.S., a major framework is the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), adopted in most states. It tells courts and companies when executors or agents can access digital accounts.

Some examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills under RUFADAA and similar laws:

• Online tools vs. your will: If a platform (like Google’s Inactive Account Manager or Facebook’s legacy contact tool) lets you name who controls the account after death, that choice usually overrides your will.
• Terms of service conflicts: Your will might say your executor can access your email, but the provider’s terms may strictly ban password sharing or post‑death access.
• Privacy and confidentiality: Courts are wary of giving full inbox access if that would expose third‑party communications or sensitive data.

For background on how U.S. states approach this, see the Uniform Law Commission’s RUFADAA resource page: https://www.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-home?CommunityKey=9967fc74-2a8e-4d90-8fb3-691b5870ba5d

Example of crypto and NFT issues in digital asset wills

Crypto is the poster child for digital estate disasters. Here’s a concrete example of legal considerations for digital asset wills involving cryptocurrency and NFTs:

A New York investor holds Bitcoin, Ethereum, and several NFTs spread across:

• A Coinbase account
• A DeFi wallet on his phone
• A hardware wallet in a safe deposit box

His will says, “I leave all cryptocurrency to my son,” and names his sister as executor. Problems show up instantly:

• The executor can see that Coinbase exists (via emails and 1099 forms) but can’t access the account without proper authority and the platform’s procedures.
• The DeFi wallet and hardware wallet are invisible unless the investor left a separate inventory.
• Even if the son is the beneficiary, the executor still needs enough information to marshal the assets for tax and reporting purposes.

In this scenario, the best examples of good planning include:

• A separate, regularly updated inventory of wallet locations and types (but not the private keys) referenced in the will or trust.
• Clear instructions that the executor has authority to work with custodial exchanges to transfer assets.
• A mechanism (often outside the will, like an encrypted password manager with a recovery plan) for the beneficiary to access private keys after death.

Without that, the will is legally valid but practically useless. The law can transfer ownership, but it can’t guess your seed phrase.

For a tax perspective on virtual currency, the IRS has guidance here: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/virtual-currencies

Examples include social media, email, and content creator accounts

Some of the most emotionally charged examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills involve accounts that hold memories, not money.

Consider a teenager who dies unexpectedly:

• Her parents want access to her Instagram and TikTok accounts to download photos and videos.
• The platforms are bound by privacy laws and their own terms of service.
• The state has adopted RUFADAA, which says the court can grant some access—but not necessarily full control.

Or take a mid‑career YouTuber who earns substantial income:

• The channel is linked to a personal Google account, not an LLC.
• The AdSense payouts go to a personal bank account.
• The will leaves “all online business interests” to a spouse, but never distinguishes between personal email, personal photos, and business content.

In both cases, the examples include:

• Needing to specify in the will or trust who should manage, memorialize, or delete each major social media account.
• Distinguishing between financial rights (ad revenue, sponsorship contracts) and account management rights (posting, moderating, or shutting down the channel).
• Anticipating platform‑specific tools (Facebook legacy contacts, Google Inactive Account Manager) and making sure they don’t contradict the will.

Meta’s guidance on memorialized accounts shows how platform policies shape these choices: https://www.facebook.com/help/1506822589577997

Examples of access vs. ownership in digital asset wills

One of the subtler examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills is the difference between owning content and merely having a license to use it.

Think about:

• Your Kindle library
• iTunes or other digital music purchases
• Streaming subscriptions and software licenses

In many cases, you don’t own the digital file in a way that can be inherited. You have a personal, non‑transferable license. So a will that says “I leave my entire digital music library to my daughter” might be legally meaningless if the service terms prohibit transfer.

Real‑world examples include:

• Heirs discovering that a deceased person’s large iTunes library can’t be legally transferred, even though the value is significant to them.
• Families losing access to password‑protected cloud photo libraries because the service treats the account as personal and non‑transferable.

This is where a digital asset will needs to be honest about what can be inherited and what can only be accessed for a limited time (for example, to download photos) before the account is closed.

Example of business and intellectual property in digital asset wills

Digital businesses often live in a messy mix of platforms, domains, and personal accounts. Here’s an example of legal considerations for digital asset wills when digital assets are tied to a small business:

A freelance designer runs an online business with:

• A domain name registered in her personal name
• A Shopify store
• Client files in cloud storage
• Social media accounts that double as personal and business profiles

Her will leaves “my business” to a business partner, but never lists:

• Who owns the domain
• Who controls the store login
• Who can access client work product

The best examples of cleaner planning in this situation include:

• Putting key business assets (domain registrations, store accounts, client files) in an entity or business account rather than purely personal profiles.
• Naming a digital executor or successor manager for business accounts, with authority spelled out in the will, trust, or operating agreement.
• Separating personal and business email where possible, so the executor doesn’t have to negotiate with providers about mixed‑use accounts.

Organizations like the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offer general guidance on succession planning that can be adapted to digital businesses: https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/manage-your-business/prepare-emergencies

International examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills

If you live, work, or hold assets across borders, the examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills multiply.

Imagine:

• A U.S. citizen living in the UK with crypto on a U.S. exchange, a European neobank account, and social media accounts hosted on servers around the world.
• Different countries have different data protection laws (think GDPR in the EU) and different rules about executors accessing digital accounts.

Real examples include:

• An executor in the U.S. needing to prove authority in multiple jurisdictions to access accounts.
• Conflicts between U.S. state laws (like RUFADAA) and stricter privacy regimes that limit post‑death access to messages or metadata.

In these cases, sophisticated planners often:

• Use trusts or holding entities governed by a single, predictable legal system for major digital assets.
• Coordinate wills across jurisdictions so they don’t contradict each other on digital access rights.

For global data‑protection context, the European Data Protection Board offers guidance on GDPR‑related issues: https://edpb.europa.eu

Drafting tips drawn from real examples of digital asset will problems

When you look across all these examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills, some patterns emerge. The most effective plans tend to:

• Separate the legal document (will or trust) from the practical access information (passwords, keys, recovery methods). The will references a digital asset memorandum or inventory without exposing sensitive data in a public court file.
• Explicitly grant the executor or digital fiduciary the authority to access, manage, and dispose of digital assets, subject to applicable laws and terms of service.
• Call out high‑value categories—crypto, online businesses, domain names, monetized social channels—rather than burying them in a vague “all my property” clause.
• Use platform tools (legacy contacts, inactive account managers) in coordination with, not in contradiction to, the will.

None of this replaces actual legal advice. But these are the best examples of patterns that tend to work better in the real world than a one‑line “all my digital stuff” sentence.

2024–2025 trends affecting digital asset wills

A few current trends are shaping new examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills:

• Mainstream crypto adoption: More people hold digital assets without telling anyone, which means more lost wallets and inaccessible exchanges in estates.
• Creator economy growth: Digital content and online audiences are turning into real businesses that need succession plans.
• Platform policy updates: Big providers continue to refine post‑death procedures, often giving more tools to users to direct what happens after they’re gone.
• Regulatory focus: Tax authorities and regulators are paying closer attention to digital assets, increasing the stakes of getting valuation and reporting right.

The result: estate planners are now treating digital assets as a standard agenda item, not a novelty. If your lawyer doesn’t ask about them, that’s a red flag.

FAQ: examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills

Q1: What are some common examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills?
Common examples include how to give your executor lawful access to accounts without violating terms of service, how to handle non‑transferable licenses (like many music and ebook libraries), how to plan for crypto and NFTs that require private keys, and how to manage or memorialize social media and email accounts.

Q2: Can you give an example of a mistake people make with digital asset wills?
A classic example is writing “I leave all my cryptocurrency to my spouse” without documenting where the wallets are, what exchanges are used, or how to access them. Legally, the spouse owns the crypto. Practically, it may be lost forever.

Q3: Do I need a separate will just for digital assets?
Usually no. Most people address digital assets within a standard will or trust, sometimes with a separate digital asset memorandum or inventory. The legal authority goes in the will or trust; the detailed list of accounts and access instructions is typically kept outside the will and updated over time.

Q4: Are there good real examples of platforms helping with post‑death access?
Yes. For example, Google’s Inactive Account Manager lets you decide who can access certain data if your account goes inactive, and Facebook allows you to name a legacy contact or request account deletion after death. These are practical examples of tools that can work alongside your will.

Q5: How often should I update my digital asset planning?
Any time you add or remove major digital assets—like opening a new crypto exchange account, launching a monetized channel, or moving business operations to a new platform—you should update your private inventory and make sure your will or trust language still matches how you actually operate online.

If you recognize yourself in any of these examples of legal considerations for digital asset wills, that’s your cue to talk with an estate planning attorney who understands digital property. The law is still evolving, but doing nothing is the worst possible strategy when so much of your life is now behind a login screen.