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Digital Estate Planning in Minnesota: Protecting Your Online Accounts and Digital Assets

A growing portion of personal and financial life now exists in digital form—email accounts, social media profiles, online banking, cryptocurrency holdings, cloud-stored documents, and digital businesses. Yet most estate plans focus exclusively on traditional assets such as real property, financial accounts, and personal possessions. When an individual becomes incapacitated or dies, family members and fiduciaries often discover that they have no legal authority—and sometimes no practical ability—to access, manage, or transfer the decedent’s digital assets.

Minnesota addressed this gap by adopting the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), codified at Minn. Stat. Chapter 521A. This law establishes a framework for fiduciary access to digital assets while respecting the account holder’s privacy expectations.

What Are Digital Assets?

Under Minn. Stat. § 521A.02, a digital asset is defined as an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. This broad definition encompasses:

The definition is intentionally broad because the digital landscape continues to evolve.

Minnesota’s RUFADAA Framework

RUFADAA resolves the conflicts between federal computer fraud laws, service providers’ terms of service, and state probate law by establishing a clear hierarchy of authority for fiduciary access to digital accounts.

The Three-Tier Priority System

RUFADAA establishes a three-tier priority system for determining fiduciary access to digital assets:

  1. The account holder’s instructions through the service provider’s online tool. Many platforms (including Google, Facebook, and Apple) now offer tools that allow users to designate what happens to their account after death or incapacity. If the account holder has used one of these tools, those instructions take priority.

  2. The account holder’s instructions in an estate planning document. If the account holder has not used the provider’s online tool, directions in a will, trust, or power of attorney govern fiduciary access.

  3. The service provider’s terms of service. Only if the account holder has given no instructions through either of the first two tiers do the provider’s default terms of service control access.

This hierarchy gives individuals meaningful control over their digital legacy, but only if they take affirmative steps to document their wishes.

Distinguishing Content from Catalogue Information

RUFADAA draws an important distinction between the content of digital communications (the substance of emails and messages) and catalogue information (metadata such as sender, recipient, date, and subject line). A fiduciary’s default access is limited to catalogue information. Access to the content of communications requires either the account holder’s express consent in an estate planning document or a court order.

This distinction reflects a balance between the fiduciary’s need to manage the estate and the account holder’s privacy interests—and the privacy interests of third parties who communicated with the account holder.

Planning for Specific Categories of Digital Assets

Cryptocurrency and Digital Tokens

Cryptocurrency presents unique estate planning challenges because it is typically secured by private cryptographic keys. If those keys are lost, the assets are permanently inaccessible—there is no bank or institution that can reset a password or restore access. Estate planning for cryptocurrency requires securely documenting private keys and wallet recovery phrases, designating a fiduciary with the technical knowledge to manage digital currency, and addressing the tax implications of cryptocurrency transfers at death.

Email and Social Media

Email accounts often contain critical information needed for estate administration—financial statements, insurance policies, account credentials, and correspondence with advisors. For each account, the account holder should determine whether the account should be memorialized, deleted, or transferred. Many platforms offer post-death management tools: Google’s Inactive Account Manager, Facebook’s Legacy Contact, and Apple’s Digital Legacy program.

Online Businesses and Revenue Streams

Digital businesses—e-commerce stores, subscription services, content platforms, and freelance profiles—may generate ongoing revenue that requires active management. A revocable living trust is particularly effective for these assets because the successor trustee can step into the management role immediately, avoiding the disruption that probate would cause.

Incorporating Digital Assets into Your Estate Plan

Create a Digital Asset Inventory

The foundation of digital estate planning is a comprehensive inventory of all digital accounts and assets. For each item, document the platform or service, the account holder’s username, the nature and approximate value of the asset, and your instructions for disposition (transfer, delete, memorialize). This inventory should be stored securely—not in the will itself, which becomes a public document upon admission to probate.

Authorize Fiduciary Access

Include specific language in your will, trust, and power of attorney that expressly authorizes your fiduciary to access, manage, and dispose of your digital assets. Under RUFADAA’s priority system, this authorization in an estate planning document controls unless you have provided different instructions through a service provider’s online tool.

Address Password Management

A password manager (such as 1Password, Bitwarden, or LastPass) provides a single, encrypted repository for all account credentials. The estate plan should identify the password manager being used and provide a mechanism for the fiduciary to access it—typically through a master password stored in a secure location, such as a sealed envelope in a safe or with the estate planning attorney.

Designate a Digital Executor

Some individuals choose to designate a specific person—sometimes called a digital executor—to manage digital assets, separate from the personal representative or trustee who handles traditional assets. This can be useful when the digital assets require specialized technical knowledge that the primary fiduciary may lack.

While Minnesota law does not formally recognize a distinct “digital executor” role, the same result can be achieved by naming a specific individual in the will or trust with authority limited to digital asset management.

Use Provider-Specific Tools

Take advantage of the post-death management tools offered by major platforms. Because these tools occupy the highest tier in RUFADAA’s priority system, they are the most reliable way to ensure that your wishes for specific accounts are honored. Review and update these settings periodically, just as you would review beneficiary designations on financial accounts.

Terms of Service vs. Your Estate Plan

A recurring tension in digital estate planning is the conflict between a service provider’s terms of service and the account holder’s estate plan. Many terms of service purport to prohibit account transfer or to terminate accounts upon the account holder’s death. RUFADAA addresses this conflict by placing the account holder’s documented wishes above the terms of service in the priority hierarchy—but only if those wishes are actually documented.

Without express instructions from the account holder, the terms of service become the default governing authority. This underscores the importance of affirmative planning: silence defaults to whatever the service provider decides.

Digital assets are an increasingly significant component of personal and financial life, and they deserve the same deliberate attention in your estate plan as traditional assets. Minnesota’s adoption of RUFADAA provides a solid legal framework, but its protections are only effective when paired with clear documentation, secure credential management, and coordination with the broader estate plan.