Digital Assets in New York Estate Plans

## Digital property needs an access plan

A modern New York estate may contain cryptocurrency, NFTs, monetized social-media accounts, cloud photographs, domain names, email, and records stored only online. These assets create two distinct problems: determining who legally inherits them and enabling a fiduciary to locate and control them.

New York adopted a version of the **Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act**, codified in Article 13-A of the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law. The statute creates a framework for access by executors, administrators, trustees, guardians, and agents while respecting privacy and the account holder’s choices.

## Consent and the priority of instructions

A custodian’s online tool may allow a user to name a legacy contact or choose whether content can be disclosed. A valid direction made through that tool generally receives priority over contrary language in a will, trust, or power of attorney if the user could modify the direction at any time.

If no online-tool direction exists, the governing estate-planning document may authorize disclosure. The custodian’s terms of service can matter when neither source supplies an instruction.

New York residents should therefore coordinate:

- Legacy-contact and inactive-account settings; - Wills and revocable trusts; - Durable powers of attorney; - Business succession documents; and - Written consent to disclose electronic communications.

Access to a catalogue of communications is different from access to the **content** of messages. Explicit consent is especially important because federal privacy law can restrict a custodian’s disclosure of content.

## Cryptocurrency and NFTs

Blockchain assets are controlled through credentials, not merely through a probate decree. If a private key or seed phrase is lost, an executor may have no technical means to recover the asset. If credentials are exposed in a will, they may eventually appear in a public court file.

A safer plan separates ownership instructions from security information. The will or trust can identify beneficiaries and fiduciary authority, while a secure, updateable inventory explains where wallets and recovery material are stored. Seed phrases should not be placed directly in a will.

NFT planning should examine both the token and associated intellectual-property rights. Owning a token does not necessarily convey copyright in the linked artwork. The plan should identify the marketplace, wallet, smart-contract terms, licensing rights, and tax records.

## What fiduciaries should expect

A fiduciary requesting disclosure may need to provide the custodian with a certified death certificate, letters issued by the Surrogate’s Court, a copy of relevant consent language, account-identifying information, or a court order. Custodians may provide access, partial copies, or account records in a form permitted by statute.

Fiduciaries remain bound by duties of care, loyalty, and confidentiality. They should avoid impersonating the deceased, violating computer-access restrictions, or moving volatile assets without documenting authority and valuation. Cryptocurrency transactions can also generate tax consequences and permanent public records.

## A practical inventory

An effective digital inventory should list asset categories without unnecessarily exposing secrets:

- Exchanges, wallet types, and device locations; - Domain registrars and hosting providers; - Subscription and payment accounts; - Cloud storage and photo libraries; - Revenue-producing channels and intellectual property; and - Instructions for preserving or deleting personal content.

The inventory should be encrypted or kept with a trusted professional, and fiduciaries should know how to find it. It needs regular updates because platforms, devices, and authentication methods change.

## Integrate digital and traditional planning

Digital assets should be coordinated with beneficiary designations, business agreements, tax planning, and the residuary estate. Clear consent language solves only the legal-access problem; organized credentials solve the practical problem. Both are necessary.

*By Diane Chen, Esq. This article provides general information, not legal advice.*