Digital asset estate planner

Important: store this document securely. This inventory will contain sensitive account information. Never store actual passwords in an unencrypted document - use it to identify where credentials are kept (a password manager) instead. Keep the completed document in a secure, access-controlled location, such as with your attorney or in a safe. See our full disclaimer.

1. Your information

Your full legal name

Date prepared

Who should manage your digital assets? (may be same as your will's executor)

2. Password manager and access

Do you use a password manager?

Where is master password/access information stored? (do NOT write the actual password here)

Device access notes

3. Financial digital assets

Cryptocurrency holdings and wallet access notes Never record seed phrases or private keys in this document. Note only where they are physically stored.

Online banking, investment, and payment accounts

4. Personal digital assets

Email accounts

Social media accounts and preferences

Photo and file storage

5. Business and other digital assets

Business-related digital assets (domains, websites, business accounts)

Recurring subscriptions to cancel

Your digital asset inventory and instructions

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An estate planning attorney ensures your digital asset plan is legally enforceable (many states have specific digital asset access laws), integrates with your will and power of attorney, and properly addresses cryptocurrency and other complex digital holdings.

Why do families lose access to digital assets after death?

Unlike a physical safe deposit box, most digital accounts have no obvious way for anyone else to access them - platforms often require proof of death plus specific legal authority before granting any access, and many accounts simply don't have a clear path to access at all without the original credentials, especially cryptocurrency held in a personal wallet with no exchange or custodian involved.

Cryptocurrency presents the most severe version of this problem - if the private keys or seed phrase are lost, the funds are permanently unrecoverable, with no customer service department or account recovery option, unlike a traditional bank account. Estimates suggest a meaningful percentage of all cryptocurrency ever created has been permanently lost this way, some portion undoubtedly connected to deaths where the holder didn't leave adequate access instructions.

Pair this inventory with the will and testament builder and power of attorney builder for complete coverage of both death and incapacity scenarios.

What is the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA)?

Most states have adopted some version of RUFADAA, a law establishing a framework for how executors, trustees, and agents under a power of attorney can legally access digital assets after death or incapacity. Under this framework, your explicit instructions (in a will, trust, power of attorney, or through a platform's own "legacy contact" or similar tool) generally take priority, followed by the platform's own terms of service, with state default rules applying only as a last resort.

This is why explicitly naming a digital executor and providing clear instructions - rather than assuming a family member can simply figure it out after the fact - provides meaningfully stronger legal footing for accessing your accounts than leaving the matter to platform discretion or generic default rules.

What should never be included directly in this type of document?

Never write actual passwords, PINs, or cryptocurrency seed phrases/private keys directly into this or any similar document, especially if it will be stored alongside other estate planning paperwork that may be less securely protected than a dedicated password manager. Instead, use this document to point to where that sensitive information is actually stored (a password manager, a sealed envelope with your attorney, a safe deposit box), keeping the sensitive credentials themselves in a genuinely secure, access-controlled location.

Frequently asked questions

It depends on the platform and applicable law - many platforms' terms of service technically prohibit anyone but the account holder from accessing the account, and federal computer fraud laws create additional legal complexity around unauthorized access, even by a well-meaning family member with good intentions. Explicit written authorization (in a will, power of attorney, or through the platform's own tools) is important not just for practical access but to ensure your executor or agent isn't inadvertently violating terms of service or, in rare cases, running into legal risk for accessing accounts without clear authority.

Most major platforms have some default policy for deceased users' accounts, often including a "memorialization" option (keeping the profile visible with a note indicating the person has passed, while restricting further changes) as well as an account deletion option upon proof of death and appropriate request from a family member or authorized representative. Without explicit instructions from you, family members are left to guess at your preferences and navigate each platform's specific request process on their own, during an already difficult time - specifying your preferences in advance removes this burden and guesswork.

Cryptocurrency requires special attention because, unlike a bank account, there's no institution to contact for recovery if access is lost - the assets are only as accessible as your private keys or seed phrase allow. Common approaches include storing seed phrases in a secure physical location (like a safe deposit box or fireproof safe) separate from other documents, using a multi-signature wallet requiring multiple parties to authorize a transaction, or working with specialized cryptocurrency estate planning services designed for this exact problem. Given the irreversible nature of lost crypto access, this is an area worth specific attention beyond generic estate planning advice, particularly for meaningful holdings.

Often yes for simplicity, but not required - some people choose a different, more tech-comfortable person specifically for managing digital assets, especially if their regular executor isn't particularly technically inclined or if digital assets (like a significant cryptocurrency holding or an online business) require specialized handling. Whichever approach you choose, make sure the designation is clearly documented and consistent across your will, power of attorney, and this digital asset inventory, to avoid confusion about who has authority over what.

Digital accounts and passwords change far more frequently than most other estate planning documents, so review and update this inventory more often than you might your will - at least annually, and immediately after any significant change like adopting a new password manager, opening new financial or cryptocurrency accounts, or closing old ones. An outdated digital asset inventory that references accounts you no longer use, or omits new ones you've since opened, provides a false sense of security while actually leaving significant gaps.