Every client has digital assets, including the content on their smartphone, email, online accounts, cryptocurrency, photos, files, and other digital property. But these assets can become inaccessible upon incapacity or death—even when their estate plan appears to provide the necessary legal authorizations.

This session explores the growing gap between legal authority and practical access. We’ll examine why having a password is not the same as having authorization; why having authorization does not guarantee access; how custodial and noncustodial assets create very different planning problems; and why password managers, digital vaults, and online tools through the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) often fall short in practice.

Most importantly, we’ll look at how estate planning attorneys can address digital assets as part of the planning process and avoid leaving families and fiduciaries to solve the problem after a crisis occurs.