Including Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan

Your life is increasingly online, but most estate plans still read as if it is 1995. Miami clients ask us constantly: what happens to my email, my photos, my crypto, and my online accounts when I am gone or incapacitated? Here is what to know about digital assets under Florida law.

What counts as a digital asset?

More than people think. It includes email and cloud storage, social media, photo and video libraries, online banking and brokerage logins, cryptocurrency and exchange accounts, domain names, loyalty and rewards points, subscription services, and even a small business’s online store. Some have real monetary value, like a crypto wallet. Others have deep sentimental value, like a decade of family photos from your phone. Both can be lost forever if no one can reach them.

Can my family just log in with my passwords?

Technically they might, but practically and legally it is a minefield. Using someone else’s credentials can violate the provider’s terms of service and federal computer-access laws, and accounts get locked after a death. Many Miami families discover that a tech company’s customer-service line will not help a grieving spouse without legal authority, no matter how reasonable the request. A list of passwords taped inside a drawer is not a plan, and it goes stale fast.

Does Florida law give my fiduciary access?

Yes. Florida adopted the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (found in Chapter 740 of the Florida Statutes), which creates a legal framework for personal representatives, trustees, and agents under a power of attorney to access certain digital assets. The law generally follows a priority order: an online tool the provider offers (such as a platform’s legacy or inactive-account feature) usually controls first; if you have not used one, your estate planning documents control next; and only then the provider’s terms of service. The practical takeaway is that your will, trust, and durable power of attorney should expressly grant digital-asset authority, and you should use any built-in legacy tools the platforms provide.

How do I plan for incapacity, not just death?

This is the piece Miami families overlook. If a stroke or accident leaves you incapacitated, your loved ones may need to pay bills, manage a business, or reach important records online long before any probate begins. A Florida durable power of attorney under Chapter 709, drafted to include digital-asset authority, lets your chosen agent step in during your lifetime. Without it, your family may be locked out of your accounts during the very moment they need them most.

What practical steps should I take now?

• Inventory. Make a running list of accounts and where they live, without writing raw passwords into your will (a will can become a public record in Miami-Dade probate).
• Use a secure password manager and tell your fiduciary how to access it through proper authority.
• Set platform legacy tools where available, so the right person is pre-authorized.
• Address crypto carefully. If no one can find the keys, the coins are gone; if the keys are in your will, they are exposed. Plan the custody separately and securely.
• Update your documents to expressly authorize digital-asset access.

A note before you finalize

Digital assets sit at the intersection of Florida fiduciary law, federal access rules, and each platform’s contract. The wording in your power of attorney and trust genuinely matters. Before relying on a password list or an old document, consult a licensed Florida estate planning attorney to build in proper digital-asset authority for both incapacity and death.