Much of modern life lives online: bank statements, family photos, email, business accounts, cryptocurrency. After a death or incapacity, families often discover that none of it can be reached — not because the law forbids it, but because no one planned for it.
What counts as a digital asset
- Email and messaging accounts.
- Photos and files in cloud storage.
- Online banking, brokerage and bill-pay access.
- Social media accounts.
- Cryptocurrency and the keys or devices that control it.
- Domain names, websites, online businesses and digital storefronts.
- Airline miles and reward points, where the program allows transfer.
What Texas law says
Texas has adopted a version of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. In plain terms, it sets an order of priority for whether your executor, trustee or agent can access your accounts:
- 1. The company's online tool
- If the provider offers a tool to name someone — such as Google's Inactive Account Manager, Apple's Legacy Contact, or Facebook's legacy contact — your choice there generally controls, even over your will.
- 2. Your will, trust or power of attorney
- If you did not use an online tool, your written estate planning documents control.
- 3. The terms of service
- If you did neither, the provider's terms decide, and they are often restrictive.
An important distinction: a fiduciary can more easily get a catalog of your communications (who you emailed and when) than the content. Access to content generally requires that you consented, in an online tool or in your documents.
Practical steps
- Use the online tools your major providers offer, and keep the choices consistent with your plan.
- Include digital asset authority in your will, trust and power of attorney, expressly covering the content of communications.
- Keep an inventory of accounts, not in your will (which becomes public), but in a secure list your executor can find.
- Use a password manager with an emergency access feature, and say where the master credentials are.
- For cryptocurrency, document where the assets are held and how the keys or recovery phrases can be accessed securely. Without them, crypto can be permanently lost.
- Say what you want done: which accounts should be memorialized, deleted, archived or transferred.
Simply giving a family member your password and having them log in as you can violate a provider's terms and, in some cases, the law. It can also lock accounts when the provider detects unusual access. Use the legal routes above.
Common questions
Can my executor get into my phone?
Device access is often the hardest part. Manufacturers' legacy features and a securely stored passcode are the practical solutions; without them, a court order may still not unlock an encrypted device.
Do digital assets go through probate?
Assets with value, like cryptocurrency or an online business, are part of your estate like any other property. Accounts with a legacy contact are handled under the provider's process.
This guide is general information about Texas law as of September 2026, not legal advice for your situation. Laws and dollar figures change, and small facts change outcomes. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Grover C. Peters III is responsible for this content.