The recent Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) in Ohio now provides guidance on the rights to access digital assets for four types of fiduciaries: executors, agents under powers of attorney, guardians and trustees. This guide emphasizes the rights of agents under powers of attorney.
Digital assets fall into four main categories. The first consists of purely electronic items that have actual monetary value, like bitcoin. The second is online access to regular financial information like bank and investment accounts. Third is electronic communications which primarily include email accounts and public and private messages in various social media profiles. The fourth category includes all other activities conducted online, including family photos and videos, hobbies, genealogy and information for volunteer organizations, to name a few.
Chapter 17 of the book below deals with Planning for Digital Assets & Cryptocurrencies.
The Tools & Techniques of Estate Planning for Modern Families by Selected provisions:
In a strict reading of the law, a fiduciary that accesses a decedent's digital device of online account without sufficient authorization is in violation of the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act below: