Protecting your digital assets means naming a digital executor, giving that person a way to access your accounts, and stating your wishes for each account in your will or trust. Without these steps, your social media accounts, cryptocurrency, and other online property can become permanently inaccessible or simply overlooked after you die.
Why Digital Assets Need Their Own Plan
Roughly 30 percent of American adults now own cryptocurrency, according to a 2026 Security.org report, and nearly everyone has photos, email, and social media accounts stored online. Unlike a house or a bank account, this property does not automatically transfer through the usual channels. A password nobody else knows, or an account with no beneficiary designation, can be lost entirely, not just delayed.
Naming a Digital Executor
Most states have adopted some version of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, model legislation from the Uniform Law Commission that gives your executor, trustee, or a person you name the legal authority to manage your digital property after you die or become incapacitated. That legislation is what makes naming a digital executor meaningful, rather than just a courtesy request to a family member.
A digital executor typically handles:
- Identifying your digital assets, including financial accounts, social media, email, cloud storage, and any other accounts or files stored online.
- Managing those assets according to your instructions, whether that means deleting an account, transferring it to a family member, or archiving it.
- Securing your accounts, such as changing passwords or closing accounts to prevent unauthorized access.
- Complying with relevant laws, including data protection and privacy rules that apply to specific platforms.
Platform Rules and Beneficiary Designations
Even with RUFADAA-style laws in place, individual platforms still set their own rules for handling a deceased user's account. Some platforms let you designate a specific contact in advance. Facebook, for example, lets you name a Legacy Contact through its account settings, someone who can manage a memorialized version of your profile after you die. Review the settings on any platform that matters to you, since these options change and are easy to miss if you never look for them.
Cryptocurrency Needs Special Attention
Cryptocurrency is harder to plan for than a typical online account because most crypto platforms do not offer a beneficiary designation the way a bank or retirement account does. Cryptocurrency is also designed around anonymity and self-custody, which means if you die without telling anyone you own it, or without leaving a way to access it, that value can be lost permanently, with no customer service line to call and no court order that can recover a private key nobody has. Your executor or a trusted person needs your wallet information, your private keys or seed phrase, and clear instructions, stored securely, well before it becomes urgent. For a deeper look at this specific problem, see our guide on how to protect your cryptocurrency assets.
A Worked Example
Say you hold a modest amount of cryptocurrency in a self-custody wallet, along with a handful of NFTs, and you have never mentioned any of it to your family. If you pass away without leaving your seed phrase or private key somewhere your executor can find it, that value is gone. No probate court order and no help desk can restore access to a wallet nobody else has the key to. Compare that to a scenario where you listed the wallet in your current assets list, named a digital executor, and stored the access information in a secure location your executor knows about. The difference between those two outcomes is entirely about whether you did this planning while you were still able to.
Practical Steps to Protect Your Digital Assets
- Take inventory. List every digital asset you have, including financial accounts, social media, email, and cryptocurrency, and where each one is held.
- Secure your accounts. Use strong, unique passwords and two-factor authentication wherever it is available.
- Name a digital executor. Choose someone you trust and confirm they are willing to take on the role.
- Decide what should happen to each asset. Some accounts should be deleted, some transferred, and some preserved. Write these instructions into your will or trust.
- Store access information securely. A password manager, or a physical document kept somewhere safe, works better than scattering the information across notes or emails.
- Review the plan periodically. Update it whenever you open new accounts or your digital holdings change meaningfully.
How FastWill Helps
FastWill's online will builder lets you name a digital executor and record instructions for your digital assets as part of your overall estate plan, so this piece does not get handled separately, or forgotten, from the rest of your documents.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I name a digital executor who is different from my regular executor?
Yes. Many people name the same person for both roles, but you can name someone else specifically for digital assets if that makes more sense for your situation.
What happens to my social media accounts if I do not plan for them?
Policies vary by platform. Some will memorialize an inactive account, while others may eventually deactivate it, and without a named contact, your family may have limited ability to make that choice for you.
Is cryptocurrency part of my probate estate?
It can be, but only if your executor actually has access to it. Without your private keys or seed phrase, the asset may be unreachable regardless of what your will says.
Do I need to write my passwords directly into my will?
No, and you should not, since a will can become a public record during probate. Store access information separately and tell your digital executor where to find it.
How often should I update my digital assets plan?
Review it whenever you open a significant new account or acquire meaningful cryptocurrency holdings, similar to how you would update the rest of your estate plan.
Start protecting your full estate, digital assets included, with FastWill's online will builder.
