The concept of an “estate” once meant tangible things — homes, vehicles, jewelry, or financial accounts. But in 2025, an individual’s wealth is increasingly digital: cryptocurrency holdings, monetized YouTube channels, online storefronts, and even in-game assets now hold significant financial and sentimental value. When someone dies, those assets don’t simply vanish — they fall under the complex and evolving domain of digital probate administration.
Florida, long known for its detailed and sometimes restrictive probate laws, is now grappling with how to manage digital property within its traditional legal framework. The state’s adoption of the Florida Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (FFADAA) signaled progress, but the practical application of this law still raises serious questions for fiduciaries, heirs, and attorneys alike.
What Counts as a “Digital Asset” in Probate?
Under Florida Statutes Chapter 740, a digital asset includes any electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. This definition covers an enormous range — from cryptocurrency and online bank accounts to email archives, social media profiles, and cloud-stored business records.
The challenge, however, lies in access and valuation.
- Access: Many service providers—such as Google, Meta, and Apple—restrict account access postmortem, even to authorized personal representatives, due to privacy laws and user agreements.
- Valuation: Unlike traditional bank accounts, digital holdings such as NFTs or cryptocurrency fluctuate dramatically in value, complicating estate inventory and tax reporting.
These issues create friction between a decedent’s intent, the rights of heirs, and the policies of tech companies controlling the data.
Florida’s Legal Framework for Digital Probate
The FFADAA, enacted in 2016, aligns with the national Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA). It gives fiduciaries—such as executors, trustees, and court-appointed administrators—limited authority to access digital property if certain conditions are met.
However, access isn’t automatic. The statute distinguishes between content of communications (e.g., the body of an email) and catalogue information (metadata such as timestamps or recipient lists). A fiduciary generally cannot access the content of electronic communications without the express consent of the user through:
- An online tool provided by the service (like Google’s “Inactive Account Manager”), or
- Explicit instructions in a will or trust document.
Absent these, personal representatives must petition the court for access—an often lengthy and uncertain process.
For attorneys practicing probate in Florida, this creates a tension between statutory compliance and technological reality. Without foresight in estate planning documents, digital assets can become inaccessible or lost entirely.
Crypto and Probate: The New Frontier of Inheritance Law
Cryptocurrency ownership poses particularly thorny problems for probate courts. Unlike traditional financial accounts, crypto wallets are controlled by private keys—long strings of characters that function as both password and proof of ownership.
If the decedent dies without sharing these keys, the assets are effectively unrecoverable. Even the most diligent personal representative or probate attorney has no legal—or technological—means of retrieval. The Internal Revenue Service now treats cryptocurrency as property, meaning it must be valued and reported for estate tax purposes. Yet without access, that requirement becomes impossible to fulfill.
Some Florida probate practitioners are now recommending that clients include encrypted key information in estate planning documents or with a trusted fiduciary, using services designed for secure digital inheritance. But this area remains legally gray, with no uniform precedent for handling decentralized assets.
Social Media, Online Businesses, and the Right to Be Remembered
Digital probate isn’t limited to financial accounts. Personal data—photos, videos, correspondence, and online presences—can carry immense emotional and reputational weight.
Platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow users to designate legacy contacts or request memorialization, but these policies differ by platform and jurisdiction. For influencers, YouTubers, and online business owners, accounts can also generate ongoing revenue—raising the question of whether they are digital heirlooms or commercial assets.
The Florida Bar’s Digital Assets Committee has urged practitioners to consider “digital continuity” clauses in estate documents, defining how content should be preserved, deleted, or monetized posthumously. Without such foresight, valuable intellectual property and revenue streams may disappear—or fall into legal limbo.
Navigating the Intersection of Privacy and Probate
Perhaps the most sensitive issue in digital probate is privacy. Decedents may leave behind private messages, financial records, or correspondence they never intended others to see. Balancing that privacy with fiduciary duties to identify and administer all estate assets can be delicate.
Courts have yet to draw clear boundaries between a fiduciary’s investigative authority and a deceased person’s digital privacy. Until then, most Florida practitioners err on the side of caution, limiting access to strictly financial or legally relevant data.
Final Thoughts: The Need for Expert Legal Guidance
Florida’s courts are adapting, but slowly. As digital assets continue to evolve—alongside laws still written for paper and property—effective probate administration demands both legal precision and technical literacy.
Without clear instructions in estate documents, even legitimate heirs may find themselves locked out of digital wealth worth thousands—or millions—of dollars.
For families, executors, and fiduciaries navigating these issues, guidance from seasoned professionals is indispensable. Contact Expert probate administration lawyers in Florida to ensure your loved one’s digital and traditional assets are properly secured, valued, and distributed in accordance with Florida law.
