Why Your Will Needs a Digital Section

In 2020, the law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks — representing clients like Madonna, Drake, and Lady Gaga — was breached by the REvil ransomware gang. 756 gigabytes of confidential client data was stolen and held for a $42 million ransom. Contracts, financial records, personal correspondence — all exfiltrated from the "secure" servers of one of America's most prestigious law firms.

Your attorney's office is almost certainly less secure than Grubman Shire. And yet, you're about to hand them a document containing your cryptocurrency seed phrases, your banking passwords, and the keys to your entire digital life. In a filing cabinet. Behind a $50 deadbolt.

Traditional wills were designed for a world of physical property — real estate, vehicles, jewelry, bank accounts. But today, significant value exists in purely digital form: cryptocurrency portfolios, domain names, digital businesses, online storefronts, and extensive digital media libraries.

Without explicit provisions for digital assets, your executor may lack the legal authority to access, transfer, or manage these assets. Worse, they may not even know these assets exist.

Including a digital assets section in your will serves dual purposes: it establishes your executor's legal authority over digital property, and it creates a record of what digital assets exist and how to access them.

Legal Frameworks

RUFADAA (US): The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, adopted by most US states, provides a legal framework for fiduciary access to digital assets. It establishes a priority hierarchy: your online tool settings take precedence, followed by your will, followed by the platform's terms of service.

UK: The Law Commission has acknowledged the need for digital asset legislation but hasn't yet enacted comprehensive law. Current practice relies on existing property law and executor authority.

EU: Digital asset inheritance falls under the applicable national succession law of EU member states. GDPR adds complexity when personal data of third parties is involved.

Australia: Digital assets are generally considered part of the deceased's estate under existing succession law, though specific digital asset legislation is evolving.

Regardless of jurisdiction, explicitly addressing digital assets in your will strengthens your executor's position when dealing with service providers.

Best Practices

DO: • List categories of digital assets (not specific passwords — wills become public) • Reference your password manager and where the master password is stored • Reference your dead man's switch service and what it contains • Name a technically competent digital executor • Include a clause granting broad authority over "any digital assets, accounts, or property"

DON'T: • Include passwords in the will itself (it becomes a public document during probate) • List specific cryptocurrency wallet addresses (these could be exploited) • Assume your traditional executor understands technology — consider a separate digital executor • Forget to update the digital section when you create new significant digital assets