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.
This is one of the core items every adult should have in place. See Essentials for the ranked foundation list.
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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