Why You Need to Address Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan

Your digital life holds significant financial and sentimental value, and without proper estate planning, your loved ones may lose access to everything from cryptocurrency accounts to treasured family photos stored in the cloud.

Key Takeaways:

• Digital assets include everything from online bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets, to social media profiles, email accounts, and cloud storage.
  
  

• Maryland law, through the Maryland Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, allows you to designate who can manage your digital assets.
  
  

• Creating a comprehensive digital asset inventory and including specific provisions in your estate plan can save your family from legal battles, lost funds, and the heartbreak of inaccessible memories.

When most people think about estate planning, they think of physical possessions like houses, cars, jewelry, and bank accounts. What often gets overlooked is something that has become an enormous part of our daily lives: our digital footprint. From the photos stored on your phone to your retirement accounts managed entirely online, digital assets now represent a significant portion of what we leave behind.

If you haven't considered how your digital life fits into your estate plan, you're not alone. But ignoring these assets can create serious problems for your loved ones when they need access the most. Understanding what digital assets are, why they matter, and how Maryland law addresses them can help you create a more complete estate plan that truly protects your family.

Disclaimer: This article is current as of January 2026 and all content is provided for informational purposes only. None of the information provided in this article, or elsewhere on this website, shall constitute or be construed as legal advice. For information specific to your individual circumstances, call us at (301) 781-7930 today. 

What Exactly Are Digital Assets?

Digital assets are any electronic records that you own or have rights to. This definition covers far more than most people realize. Think about how many accounts you log into on a regular basis and how much of your life exists in digital form.

Financial digital assets often carry the most obvious value. These include online banking accounts, investment portfolios managed through apps, PayPal or Venmo balances, cryptocurrency holdings, and any money stored in digital wallets. For some families, cryptocurrency alone can represent hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets that could be permanently lost without proper planning.

Beyond finances, your digital assets include email accounts, social media profiles, cloud storage services like Google Drive or iCloud, digital music and movie libraries, online gaming accounts with valuable items or currency, domain names, websites or blogs you own, loyalty program points, and digital subscriptions.

Then there are the digital assets with purely sentimental value: years of family photos stored in the cloud, videos of your children growing up, personal writings or journals, and communications with loved ones. While these may not have monetary worth, losing them can be devastating for families.

The Problem with Ignoring Digital Assets

When someone passes away without addressing their digital assets, families face a frustrating maze of legal and technical obstacles. Each online platform has its own policies about what happens to accounts after death, and many of these policies favor privacy and security over family access.

Consider a common scenario: a spouse passes away unexpectedly, and the surviving partner needs to access their joint finances. But the deceased spouse managed all the accounts online, and the passwords are unknown. Without proper documentation, even proving ownership of these accounts can take months of legal work, while bills pile up and investments sit unmanaged.

The situation becomes even more complicated with cryptocurrency. Unlike traditional bank accounts, there's no customer service number to call and no institution holding the funds. Cryptocurrency exists on decentralized networks, and without the private keys or seed phrases, those assets are gone forever. Billions of dollars in cryptocurrency have been permanently lost because owners passed away without sharing access information.

Social media presents its own challenges. Families often want to memorialize a loved one's Facebook profile or download photos from Instagram, but without proof of death and proper legal authority, platforms may refuse to cooperate. Some families have spent years fighting to gain access to their loved one's accounts.

How Maryland Law Addresses Digital Assets

Maryland established the Maryland Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which provides a framework for managing digital assets after death. This law recognizes that digital assets deserve the same consideration as physical property in estate planning.

Under the law, you have the power to decide what happens to your digital assets. You can grant your personal representative, trustee, or agent under a power of attorney the authority to access, manage, and even delete your digital accounts. However, this doesn't happen automatically.

The law establishes a priority system for determining who can access your digital assets. First, it considers any instructions you've provided directly through an online tool offered by the platform itself. Second, it considers directions in your will, trust, or power of attorney. Third, if you haven't provided any instructions, the platform's terms of service agreement controls what happens.

This priority system means that taking action now gives you control over your digital legacy. Without specific instructions, your family may find themselves bound by whatever policies Facebook, Google, or Apple have in place, which may not align with what you would have wanted.

Steps to Include Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan

Creating a comprehensive plan for your digital assets doesn't have to be overwhelming. Breaking it down into manageable steps makes the process much more approachable.

Start by creating a detailed inventory of your digital assets. Go through your phone, computer, and any devices you use regularly. List every account you can think of, from banking and investment apps to streaming services and social media. Note the email addresses associated with each account.

For each account, record the username and either the password or information about where passwords are stored. If you use a password manager, document how your personal representative can access it. For cryptocurrency, record wallet addresses and either store private keys securely or note their location.

Next, categorize your assets by value and importance. Which accounts contain money or valuable property? Which hold irreplaceable sentimental items like photos? Which accounts would you want deleted after your death, and which would you want preserved or memorialized?

Work with your attorney to add specific digital asset provisions to your estate planning documents. Your will or trust should explicitly grant your personal representative authority to access digital assets. Consider creating a separate memorandum that lists accounts and access information, which can be updated more easily than formal legal documents.

Take advantage of legacy planning tools offered by platforms themselves. Facebook allows you to designate a legacy contact. Google has an Inactive Account Manager. Apple has a Digital Legacy program. Setting up these designations now ensures a smoother process later.

Finally, communicate with your family about your digital assets and your plans. Make sure your personal representative knows where to find your inventory and how to access your password manager or secure storage. You don't need to share passwords now, but they need to know where to look.

How Z Family Law Can Help You Preserve Your Digital Legacy

Z Family Law is committed to helping Maryland families navigate complex legal matters with compassion and clarity. Our team understands that estate planning is about protecting everything that matters to you, including your digital legacy. We take the time to understand your unique situation and create personalized plans that address both tangible, IRL assets, and the digital aspects of modern life.

If you have questions about including digital assets in your estate plan or need guidance on any family law matter, we're here to help. Reach out to Z Family Law today to schedule a free estate evaluation and take the first step toward protecting your family's future.