Digital Assets in Estate Planning
Estate planning has traditionally focused on physical and financial assets: property, bank accounts, investments, and personal possessions. However, in today’s increasingly digital world, this approach is no longer sufficient. As digital assets become central to our personal, professional, and financial lives, failing to plan for them can leave loved ones facing uncertainty, frustration, and the risk of permanent loss during an already difficult time.
Digital assets are not just the preserve of younger generations or tech entrepreneurs. Almost everyone has them, often without realising their scope or value. Properly addressing digital assets in your estate plan is no longer optional; it is essential.
What are digital assets?
Digital assets cover a wide and expanding range of items, including:
- Online bank accounts and payment platforms
- Cryptocurrencies and digital wallets
- Email accounts
- Social media profiles
- Cloud‑stored photographs and documents
- Subscription services
- Online businesses and intellectual property
- Loyalty points and gaming accounts
Some digital assets have obvious financial value, such as cryptocurrency, online trading accounts, or monetised content. Others, such as family photographs stored in the cloud or personal emails, may have significant sentimental value, even if they are not financially valuable.
The legal complications of digital assets
One of the biggest challenges with digital assets is that ownership and access are often governed by complex terms and conditions imposed by service providers. These agreements frequently restrict third‑party access after death and may override what a Will says if no prior arrangements have been made.
For example, many online platforms prohibit anyone other than the account holder from accessing the account, even after death, unless specific steps have been taken. Without clear authority, executors may struggle to access, manage, or close accounts, potentially leaving assets frozen indefinitely or lost altogether.
In the case of cryptocurrencies, the risk is even greater. Without access to private keys or recovery phrases, digital currencies can be permanently irretrievable. There is no central authority to reset passwords or restore access.
Why digital assets should be included in your estate plan
Including digital assets in your estate planning achieves several crucial objectives:
1. Avoiding loss and delay
Without instructions or access details, executors may spend months attempting to contact service providers or may be unable to recover assets at all. Clear planning avoids unnecessary delays and distress.
2. Reducing stress for loved ones
Bereavement is difficult enough without having to guess what online accounts exist, what they contain, or how to deal with them. A clear digital asset plan relieves your family of that burden.
3. Protecting financial value
Digital assets with monetary value can easily be overlooked or lost. Proper planning ensures they are identified, protected, and transferred in accordance with your wishes.
4. Safeguarding privacy
Many people are concerned about their digital footprint after death. Instructions can be left to delete certain accounts, memorialise social media profiles, or preserve private information.
How to plan for digital assets effectively
Our Greenwoods Private Wealth team always advises our clients to create a robust digital asset plan, and they share their key steps here:
Create a digital asset inventory
List your digital assets, noting where they are held and their nature. This should not include passwords in your Will, but rather a reference to where secure access information is stored.
Store access information securely
Passwords, authentication details, and private keys should be stored securely, such as in an encrypted digital vault or professional password manager and include instructions that show executors how to access them.
Include clear authority in your will
Your Will should expressly authorise your executors to deal with digital assets. This can help them overcome resistance from service providers and clarify their legal position. If your digital assets are particularly complex and valuable, consider appointing a digital executor in your Will, who will have access to and be responsible for managing your digital assets after your death.
Use platform-specific tools where available
Some platforms allow you to nominate a legacy contact or specify what should happen to your account on death. These tools should be reviewed and aligned with your wider estate plan.
Keep everything under review
Digital assets change rapidly. New accounts are opened, platforms evolve, and asset values fluctuate. Regular reviews ensure your plan remains accurate and effective.
Digital assets and your estate: your questions answered
The Greenwoods Private Wealth team answers the questions they hear most often from clients navigating digital assets for the first time.
What counts as a digital asset?
More than most people realise. Digital assets include cryptocurrency and NFTs, but also online investment accounts, PayPal or Wise balances, airline miles and loyalty points with real monetary value, digital businesses, domain names, and even valuable social media accounts or content libraries. If it exists online and has financial or sentimental value, it’s worth accounting for.
Can I just leave my passwords in my Will?
You shouldn’t. A Will becomes a public document once it goes through probate, which means any passwords included in it would become publicly accessible. Instead, your Will should reference where access information is securely stored — a password manager, encrypted vault, or a sealed letter held separately.
What happens to my digital assets if I don’t make a plan?
It depends on the asset – but in many cases, they’re lost entirely. Cryptocurrency held without a recorded private key cannot be recovered by anyone. Platform accounts are often locked or deleted after a period of inactivity or upon notification of death, and executors without clear authority may find service providers unwilling to cooperate. The practical and financial cost of no plan can be significant.
Do my executors have the legal right to access my digital accounts?
Not automatically. Many platform terms of service prohibit account access by third parties, even after death and UK law hasn’t fully caught up with the complexity of digital estates. Expressly authorising your executors in your Will strengthens their position, though it doesn’t guarantee cooperation from every provider. For complex estates, a specialist digital executor can help navigate this.
What are legacy contacts and should I set them up?
Some platforms, Facebook and Apple among them, allow you to nominate a legacy contact who can manage or memorialise your account after you die. Google’s Inactive Account Manager lets you specify what happens to your data. These tools are useful, but they have limits: they don’t transfer assets, and they may not align with what your Will says. Set them up, but treat them as one layer of a wider plan rather than a solution on their own.
How often should I update my digital asset plan?
At least once a year, and whenever something significant changes – a new investment, a new platform, a change in the value of cryptocurrency holdings, or a shift in your wider estate plan. Digital lives change faster than most people’s finances, and an outdated inventory can create as many problems as no inventory at all.
Is cryptocurrency treated differently to other digital assets?
In some important ways, yes. Unlike a bank account, there is no institution to contact, no customer service team, and no recovery mechanism if access is lost. Ownership is proven entirely through private keys, whoever holds the key controls the asset. This makes secure storage and clear succession instructions not just advisable, but essential.
Digital assets are now an integral part of modern life, yet they remain one of the most overlooked aspects of estate planning. Ignoring them can lead to unnecessary complications, financial loss, and emotional distress for those you leave behind.
By recognising the importance of digital assets and addressing them clearly and carefully in your estate plan, you can ensure your executors have the authority they need, and your wishes are respected in full, both online and offline. If you would like to discuss digital assets in your own estate plan, contact our Private Wealth Team, who will be happy to offer further guidance.
This update is for general purposes and guidance only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. You should seek legal advice before relying on its content. Greenwoods Legal Services Limited is a Limited company, registered in England, registered number 16115882. Our registered office is Queens House, 55-56 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3LJ. Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, SRA number 8011813. Details of the Solicitors’ Codes of Conduct can be found at www.sra.org.uk. All instructions accepted by Greenwoods Legal Services Limited are subject to our current Terms of Business. VAT Reg No: 502 6933 06