When you sit down to create an estate plan, you’re probably thinking about your house. Maybe your retirement accounts. Family heirlooms that need to go to the right people. But what about your cryptocurrency wallet? What happens to the 10,000 photos you’ve stored in the cloud? Or that side business you run entirely through Instagram? These digital pieces of your life don’t just disappear when you’re gone. They linger in a kind of legal limbo that can drive your family crazy.
Digital assets are anything you own or control electronically. It’s a broader category than most people realize:
Some of these have obvious financial worth. Others matter because they’re irreplaceable memories or the foundation of how you earn a living.
California adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA). This law lets your estate representatives manage your digital property, but there’s a catch. You have to give them permission through your estate planning documents. Without that explicit authorization, your loved ones hit a wall. Tech companies have their own rules, and those terms of service usually say nobody except you can access the account. Some platforms will just delete everything after a period of inactivity. Others require a court order before they’ll even talk to your family.
Skip the digital asset planning, and you’re creating problems your family doesn’t need while they’re grieving. They might not know these assets exist at all. Password-protected accounts stay locked forever. Monthly subscriptions keep draining your bank account. Cryptocurrency wallets? Gone. Without the private keys, that money might as well have never existed. We’ve seen families lose thousands in digital currency because nobody knew about the account or had access codes. Others lost every photo and video they had of someone they loved because everything was stored exclusively in cloud accounts that got shut down.
Business owners have even bigger headaches. If your income depends on a website, an Etsy shop, or your social media following, that business could collapse before anyone figures out how to log in and keep things running.
At Katje Law Group, we build estate plans that work in the real world. That means addressing digital assets alongside everything else you own. An Orange estate planning lawyer can weave digital asset provisions directly into your trust or will.
We start by inventorying what you’ve got. Which digital assets have financial value? Which ones hold memories you can’t put a price on? Which ones keep your business operating? Then we draft language that actually authorizes your chosen people to access and manage these assets. This includes the fiduciary powers RUFADAA requires and instructions that tech companies will recognize as legitimate.
Your estate plan needs clear documentation about digital property. Store your login credentials somewhere secure that your executor can access when the time comes. Password managers with emergency access features work well for this. Update beneficiary designations wherever accounts allow them. Many financial platforms let you name a beneficiary directly, which means those assets skip probate entirely.
While you’ve still got the chance, review all the terms and conditions for your accounts. In some cases, certain platforms include memorialization or legacy contact options available. After reviewing these documents, you should put exactly what you want done with your accounts in writing so your family or the executor of your will doesn’t have to guess.
Your digital assets deserve the same attention you’d give to physical property. An Orange estate planning lawyer can help protect everything from financial accounts to the photos and memories that only exist online.
We work with clients throughout Orange County to create estate plans that match how people actually live today. Reach out to our team when you’re ready to secure your digital legacy and give your family the guidance they’ll need to manage your online presence.
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Ms. Katje earned her Juris Doctorate at California Western School of Law, San Diego, California, graduated Cum Laude and was a Dean’s Honor List recipient. She was also a recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award in Contracts I and Contracts II. Ms. Katje was a member of the Law Review and International Law Journal at California Western School Law, where she was an Associate Editor.
