For many people, access to their financial and business assets is primarily online—including bank accounts, brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, retirement plans, life insurance policies, cryptocurrencies, domain name registrations, blogs, and websites. If you do not make passwords, keys, and the identity of these assets known to your beneficiaries or heirs it may be difficult or impossible for them to gain access to these assets at your death.

In addition to these financial and business assets, access to email accounts, phone passwords, computer passwords, home security accounts and passwords, cloud storage accounts, digital photo albums, videos, and social media accounts are often valuable personal assets and methods for accessing other assets. You may want to allow certain members of your family, friends, or other heirs to receive access to these assets and to have authority to bypass, reset, or recover passwords.

You may want to consult with your estate planning lawyer or financial advisor about options for distributing these assets (and providing access to them) by will, trust, or other means.

Many states have laws that govern access to digital assets and the obligations of a custodian of digital assets (including a website or online service provider) to disclose digital assets to a fiduciary such as the executor or administrator of a deceased person’s will or estate. These laws are usually located in a state’s statutes; are a version of the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act; and are similarly titled (named) in the state’s statutes.

In North Carolina, the management and inheritance of digital assets are governed by the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), which is codified in Chapter 36F of the North Carolina General Statutes. This law allows individuals to plan for the management and disposition of their digital assets in a similar manner to physical assets. It provides legal authority for designated fiduciaries, such as executors or trustees, to access, manage, or transfer digital assets and electronic communications upon a person's incapacity or death, in accordance with the user's estate plan. The Act requires explicit consent from the user for disclosure, which can be granted through an online tool provided by the custodian or through the user's will, trust, or power of attorney. It is important for individuals to include digital asset planning in their estate plans and to provide clear instructions and consent for fiduciaries to manage these assets. Consulting with an attorney who specializes in estate planning is advisable to ensure that all aspects of digital asset inheritance are properly addressed and in compliance with North Carolina law.