Digital estate basics — RUFADAA, passwords, platform legacy tools
Without explicit consent and platform-level legacy settings, families are routinely locked out of email, photos, domains, and crypto. The fix is a documented inventory plus the right consents in your will and platform legacy tools — not just a list of passwords.
Two things together unlock your digital accounts for heirs: (1) explicit written consent from you authorizing fiduciary access, and (2) platform-level legacy settings configured in advance. Either one alone is insufficient. The legal frame is the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), a 2015 Uniform Law Commission model statute that almost every US state has adopted, including Virginia, West Virginia, and Alabama.
The RUFADAA three-tier hierarchy: (1) the platform's own online legacy tool wins — Google Inactive Account Manager, Apple Legacy Contact, Facebook Legacy Contact / Memorialization. (2) If no platform tool is set, explicit language in the will, trust, or power of attorney governs — your fiduciary may access digital accounts. (3) If neither is set, the platform's terms of service govern, and most ToS prohibit credential sharing. Tier 1 beats Tier 2 beats Tier 3.
What to actually do: configure each platform's legacy tool now, write a digital-assets clause into your will and , and keep an inventory of which accounts exist and where the credentials live (typically in a password manager with emergency-access designees). The inventory does NOT need to contain the passwords themselves — just a map of what exists, where, and how a successor would reach the credentials.
Crypto is a separate problem. Self-custody crypto held in a wallet whose seed phrase only you know is permanently lost at your death — RUFADAA cannot help, no court can compel a blockchain. Solutions: documented multisig (e.g., a 2-of-3 with you, a trusted person, and a hardware-secured location), a custodial exchange that has a death-claim process, or a Shamir-secret-sharing arrangement. Pick one before death, not after.
Tagged 🟢 because the inventory + platform-tool setup is genuinely DIY-safe — the failure modes are not doing it at all and not keeping it up to date, not mistakes in execution. The will/POA digital-assets clause is part of those broader documents, which carry their own tier.
State-specific notes
RUFADAA is a state-law model. Federal law (the Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq.) restricts platforms from disclosing communications without lawful consent — RUFADAA provides the consent framework that satisfies the SCA when the user has authorized fiduciary access.
Virginia adopted RUFADAA at Va. Code § 64.2-116 through § 64.2-132. A user's online instructions to the platform (Tier 1) override conflicting will or POA language. Without Tier 1 or explicit Tier 2 consent in the will/POA, fiduciary access defaults to the platform's terms of service.
West Virginia adopted RUFADAA at W. Va. Code § 44-5C. Same three-tier consent hierarchy as Virginia. The will/POA digital-assets clause should reference the West Virginia statute by chapter to remove any provider doubt.
Alabama adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act at Ala. Code § 19-1A-1 et seq. (effective 2018), with the same three-tier consent hierarchy as Virginia and West Virginia: platform online tool first, then will/trust/POA language, then platform terms of service. The will/POA digital-assets clause should reference the Alabama statute by chapter so providers do not balk at compliance. Alabama has no state-level enhancement of the federal Stored Communications Act (18 U.S.C. § 2701) overlay.
References
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