What happens to your digital assets when you die in Texas depends on a combination of state law, federal privacy rules, and the specific terms of service for each platform. In many cases, your family has far less automatic access than they assume, leaving essential accounts locked or lost.
The M Firm examines how Texas law treats digital property and the often-overlooked questions that arise when someone dies with important online accounts. Understanding these issues now is essential to preserving your digital legacy for the people you care about.
What Counts As A “Digital Asset”
Digital assets include more than just social media profiles. They commonly encompass:
- Online bank and investment accounts
- Email accounts and cloud storage
- Photos and videos stored on phones or online platforms
- Subscription services and streaming accounts
- Cryptocurrency, digital wallets, and online payment platforms
- Loyalty and rewards points
- Domain names, websites, and online businesses
Each asset may have different legal and practical rules for access after death. Because so much of modern life is now conducted online, these assets often hold both emotional and financial value. Yet they are frequently omitted from traditional estate plans that focus solely on physical property, real estate, and financial accounts held at local institutions.
Texas Law And Access To Digital Assets
Texas has adopted a version of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, commonly known as RUFADAA. This law provides an executor or trustee with a legal framework for requesting access to a deceased person’s digital assets. Still, it does not automatically override every website or app’s internal policies. Service providers can limit what can be disclosed and may distinguish between the “content” of communications and basic account records.
In practice, this means that even a duly appointed executor may face obstacles if the account owner did not clearly authorize access in their will, trust, or power of attorney. Without that express permission, the provider may refuse to share emails, messages, or files to comply with federal privacy laws and its own user agreements.
Why User Agreements And Platform Tools Matter
Most major platforms treat your account as a personal license that ends at death rather than as property your heirs can inherit outright. Their terms of service often prohibit password sharing and reserve broad discretion to close or memorialize accounts. Some companies offer built-in tools, such as “legacy contact” settings for social media or inactive account managers for email and cloud services, that allow you to designate what happens after you die.
If you ignore these tools, your loved ones may have to navigate lengthy request processes, provide extensive documentation, or accept minimal access. In some cases, valuable photos, messages, or work product can be lost simply because no one had the legal authority or credentials to retrieve them.
Privacy, Family Conflict, And Sensitive Information
Digital accounts often contain sensitive personal information, including private messages, medical details, financial records, and data about other people. Some individuals would be comfortable allowing a spouse or child to see everything, while others would prefer greater discretion or would prefer different people to handle various accounts.
If you do not provide clear instructions, your executor might face difficult decisions about whether to seek broad access, and family members may disagree about what should be preserved, deleted, or shared. Thoughtful planning can protect your privacy while still giving trusted people the information and access they genuinely need.
Practical Problems When No Plan Exists
When someone dies without a digital asset plan, surviving family members often spend months trying to track down usernames, reset passwords, or identify which platforms hold essential information. Online statements that once arrived only by email may delay estate administration or cause bills and subscriptions to go unnoticed.
If two-factor authentication is tied to the deceased person’s phone, even accounts that an executor is legally entitled to manage can become difficult to reach. Valuable business data, cryptocurrency, or income from online shops can be stranded in accounts that no one knows how to access, thereby diminishing the estate and frustrating heirs.
Core Elements Of A Digital Estate Plan
A comprehensive digital estate plan typically addresses three core issues:
Who should have access to each account or type of digital asset after your death?
What you want to happen to those assets, whether that means closing, preserving, or transferring them.
How your executor or other trusted person will obtain the credentials and legal authority needed to carry out your wishes.
This usually involves creating an organized inventory of accounts, using a secure method to store or transmit passwords, and including explicit language about digital assets in your will, trust, and financial or medical powers of attorney. The goal is to make your wishes clear and to give your fiduciaries the legal tools they need to carry them out.
Special Concerns For Financial And Business Assets
Digital financial assets require particular attention. Unlike a traditional bank account, which can be accessed with proper letters from the probate court, many online platforms rely solely on private keys, passphrases, or app-based authentication. If those credentials are lost, the underlying asset may be unrecoverable.
Digital assets in this category can include:
- Cryptocurrency
- Online trading and brokerage accounts
- Payment platforms and merchant accounts
- Digital wallets for small businesses
Owners of online businesses, content channels, or subscription-based services should also consider what happens to ongoing revenue, contracts, and intellectual property. Without formal succession arrangements, valuable digital enterprises may abruptly shut down, leaving both heirs and customers in a difficult position.
Protecting Heirs From Liability And Confusion
A carefully drafted plan can also protect your heirs from inadvertently violating terms of service or privacy laws while trying to help. Well meaning relatives sometimes log in using remembered passwords without realizing that doing so conflicts with the provider’s rules. Providing clear authority through legal documents and written instructions reduces the risk of disputes with service providers or among family members.
Clarity also helps divide responsibilities. One person might be better suited to handle business or financial accounts, while another family member could take charge of preserving photos and social media history. Assigning roles in advance keeps the process organized during an already stressful time.
How To Start Planning For Your Digital Assets
A practical first step is to list your key accounts and identify which carry financial value, which hold sentimental value, and which you would prefer deleted. Next, review platform-specific tools that let you set legacy contacts or specify what happens when an account becomes inactive, and update those settings to match your intentions.
Finally, work with a knowledgeable attorney to incorporate digital asset provisions into your broader Texas estate plan. This coordination ensures that your executor or trustee has clear authority under state law, and that your documents reflect how you want your online life handled when you are no longer here.
Securing Your Digital Assets With The M Firm
Residents of Colleyville and the wider Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex increasingly recognize that digital assets are a vital part of a modern Texas estate plan, prompting many to seek clear strategies for organizing accounts, preserving important information, and aligning online property with their broader planning goals.
Attorney Marla Mundheim advises clients on integrating online accounts, financial platforms, and electronic records into wills and trusts to protect both privacy and access. Rather than leaving your digital legacy to guesswork, speaking with The M Firm about creating a tailored strategy that safeguards your information and supports the people you care about is paramount.