Digital Assets in Pennsylvania Estates

Pennsylvania adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), codified at 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 3901 to 3918, which governs what happens to your digital property when you die or become incapacitated. Before this law, executors had almost no legal authority to access a decedent's online accounts. Now there is a framework, but reaching the content of email and private messages still takes planning.

What Are Digital Assets?

The statute defines "digital asset" broadly as an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest (20 Pa.C.S. § 3902). In practical terms, this includes: email accounts (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo), social media profiles (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), digital photos and videos stored in the cloud (Google Photos, iCloud, Dropbox), cryptocurrency and digital wallets, online banking and investment accounts, domain names and websites, digital music and book libraries (iTunes, Kindle, Audible), online business accounts (PayPal, Stripe, Shopify, eBay seller accounts), loyalty program points with monetary value, and any other electronically stored information with monetary or sentimental value.

RUFADAA distinguishes between the content of a digital asset (the actual emails, messages, photos) and the catalog of the asset (metadata identifying who communicated with the user, the time and date of each communication, and the electronic address of the other party). This distinction matters because the law provides different levels of access depending on what the account holder authorized.

The Three-Tier Priority System

RUFADAA establishes a clear hierarchy for determining who gets access to digital assets after death or incapacity:

Priority 1: The platform's own tool. If the account holder used the platform's designated legacy or memorialization tool (Google Inactive Account Manager, Facebook Legacy Contact, Apple Digital Legacy), that direction controls. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3904(a), if the online tool lets the account holder modify or delete the direction at all times, the direction overrides a contrary direction in a will, trust, or power of attorney.

Priority 2: The estate planning document. If the account holder did not use the platform tool, a provision in a will, trust, or power of attorney that specifically addresses digital assets controls. Include a digital assets clause in your estate planning documents; without it, the fiduciary has limited access.

Priority 3: The statute's default rules, then the platform's terms of service. If neither a platform tool nor an estate planning document addresses access, 20 Pa.C.S. § 3908(a) supplies a default rule. A custodian must disclose the catalog of the decedent's electronic communications and any digital asset other than the content of those communications, but only after the personal representative hands over what the section requires: a written request, a certified copy of the death certificate, certified copies of the letters, and, if the custodian asks for them, account identifiers, evidence linking the account to the decedent, an affidavit that disclosure is reasonably necessary to administer the estate, or a finding of the court. The duty also does not apply if the decedent prohibited disclosure or a court directs otherwise. That default is not the end of the analysis. Where the decedent gave no direction under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3904, section 3905(c) allows a terms-of-service agreement or Federal law to modify or eliminate a fiduciary's access, and section 3915(b)(1) makes fiduciary authority subject to the applicable terms of service. Content is the harder category. Without an online tool designation, a consent provision in a will, trust, or power of attorney, or a court order directing disclosure, the platform's terms of service govern the content of emails and messages, and most terms of service are restrictive: they prohibit sharing credentials, limit what a fiduciary can access, and in some cases terminate the account upon death.

This requires action on both fronts: use each platform's legacy tools where available and include digital assets provisions in your estate planning documents.

The Problem Without Planning

Without authorization, most platforms will not let your executor log in to your accounts. Many terms-of-service agreements prohibit sharing login credentials. Federal law (the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030, and the Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2701) can make unauthorized access a crime, even by a well-meaning family member trying to access a deceased parent's email.

The consequences are significant. Family photos stored only in the cloud may be permanently inaccessible. A small business run through online platforms may lose its customer accounts, inventory listings, and revenue streams. Cryptocurrency holdings without accessible private keys are gone forever; there is no customer service department for a blockchain. Domain names and websites may expire and be purchased by squatters. Digital subscriptions continue billing the decedent's accounts indefinitely.

Cryptocurrency: The Highest-Stakes Digital Asset

Crypto presents unique and irreversible challenges. Unlike a bank account, where a court order can compel access, cryptocurrency is controlled entirely by private keys and seed phrases. If these are lost at death, the assets are permanently and irrecoverably gone. There is no institution to petition, no court that can order recovery, and no technical workaround.

If you hold cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, tokens in DeFi protocols, NFTs), your estate plan must address how your executor will access your holdings. Document which exchanges or wallets hold your assets, whether you use hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor) and where they are physically located, your seed phrases and recovery keys (stored securely, not in the will itself), and any multi-signature arrangements that require multiple keys. A power of attorney with digital asset authority is critical for incapacity planning. If you become unable to manage your crypto holdings, your agent needs clear authority and the technical ability to access them.

What You Should Do

Include a digital assets provision in your will or trust that explicitly authorizes your executor or trustee to access, manage, copy, delete, and distribute digital assets. The provision should reference RUFADAA by name and grant the broadest authority permitted under the statute, including access to the content (not just the catalog) of your accounts.

Use each platform's legacy tools. Google Inactive Account Manager lets you designate up to 10 trusted contacts who receive access after a period of inactivity. Facebook Legacy Contact allows someone to manage your memorialized profile. Apple Digital Legacy lets you add legacy contacts who can request access after your death. Set these up now; they take minutes, and a direction left in a tool you can modify or delete at any time overrides a contrary direction in your will, trust, or power of attorney.

Maintain a secure digital inventory. List all accounts, platforms, cryptocurrency wallets, and digital assets of value. Include account names and the email address associated with each account. Do not put passwords in your will; the will becomes a public document after probate. Instead, use a password manager with emergency access features (1Password, Bitwarden, and LastPass all offer some form of emergency or family access), or maintain an encrypted file whose access instructions are shared with your executor separately.

Review your power of attorney. A standard POA drafted before RUFADAA may not include digital asset authority. If you become incapacitated, your agent needs explicit authority under the statute to access and manage your digital accounts, especially financial accounts and cryptocurrency.

What Executors Need to Know

If you are serving as executor and need to access a decedent's digital accounts, your authority depends on the three-tier priority described above. Start by checking whether the decedent used any platform legacy tools. Then review the will and any trust for digital asset provisions. If neither exists, 20 Pa.C.S. § 3908(a) still gives you a starting point. A custodian must disclose the catalog of the decedent's communications and any digital asset other than the content of those communications, once you give it a written request, a certified copy of the death certificate, and a certified copy of your letters. The custodian may also demand more before it discloses anything: account identifiers, evidence linking the account to the decedent, an affidavit that disclosure is reasonably necessary to administer the estate, or a finding of the court. The duty is not unconditional, either. Because the decedent gave no direction under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3904 in this situation, section 3905(c) lets a terms-of-service agreement or Federal law limit a fiduciary's access, and section 3915(b)(1) makes your authority subject to the applicable terms of service. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3908(b), and unless rules of court or a court order provide otherwise, the register's issuance of your letters carries the same force as a court finding for catalog disclosure, provided you file an affidavit under 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904 with the register and, on request, give the platform a copy showing it was filed. What you cannot reach without the decedent's consent, or a court order directing disclosure, is the content of the emails and messages themselves. If a platform ignores a proper request, 20 Pa.C.S. § 3916(a) gives it 60 days to comply and lets you ask the court for an order directing compliance.

To request access from a platform, you will typically need: a certified copy of the death certificate, letters testamentary or letters of administration from the Register of Wills, a copy of the will provision authorizing digital asset access (if one exists), and the platform's own request form (most major platforms have a dedicated process for deceased users). Some platforms require a court order even with these documents. An attorney can help obtain one through the Orphans' Court if necessary.

Legal and factual content on this page was last verified: Aug. 2026. If you are reading this significantly after that date, confirm key provisions with current statute text or contact our office.