Including Digital Assets in Your New York Estate Plan

Most New Yorkers now own more digital property than they realize: cryptocurrency, online photo libraries, email and social media accounts, domain names, loyalty points, and cloud-stored documents. Yet these assets are routinely left out of estate plans, leaving families locked out after a death. The comparison below covers the main ways to bring digital assets into a New York plan.

Why Digital Assets Are Different

Unlike a Brooklyn brownstone or a bank account, most digital assets are governed by service-provider terms of service and by privacy laws that can block even an executor. New York has adopted a version of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which lets you authorize a fiduciary to access your digital property, but only if your documents grant that authority clearly. Silence often means no access.

Option 1: Provisions in Your Will

You can address digital assets in a New York will executed under EPTL 3-2.1, directing your executor to manage, transfer, or close accounts. The advantage is that it ties digital access to the person already administering your estate. The drawback is that a will becomes a public document once filed in Surrogate’s Court, so you should never list passwords or private keys in it.

Option 2: Authorization Through a Trust

Holding digital assets in a revocable trust under EPTL Article 7 keeps them out of the public probate record and lets your trustee act immediately, without waiting for Surrogate’s Court appointment. For valuable crypto holdings, a trust can provide both privacy and continuity. As with a will, the trust grants authority while the actual credentials live elsewhere, in a secure inventory.

Option 3: Online Legacy Tools

Many platforms now offer built-in tools, such as a legacy contact or inactive-account manager. These are quick and free, but they operate only within one platform and can conflict with your legal documents. Use them as a supplement, never as your whole plan, and make sure they do not contradict your will or trust.

Comparing the Approaches

A will provision is simple and comprehensive but public. A trust adds privacy and immediate access but requires setup. Platform tools are convenient but fragmented and easily inconsistent. The strongest New York plans combine all three: clear fiduciary authority in the legal documents, plus a separate, secure inventory of accounts and access credentials that is updated regularly.

Handling Access During Incapacity

Death is not the only concern. A New York durable power of attorney under GOL 5-1513 should expressly grant authority over digital assets so your agent can manage accounts if you become incapacitated, and a health care proxy under PHL Article 29-C covers medical decisions. Many older powers of attorney predate digital-asset language entirely and should be updated.

Talk to a New York Attorney

Digital assets touch privacy law, provider contracts, and your core documents at once. A New York estate planning attorney can draft the authorizations that actually unlock your accounts while keeping credentials secure. Consult licensed New York counsel to bring your digital life into your plan.