Including Digital Assets in Your Palm Beach Estate Plan

Much of our lives now lives online: family photos in the cloud, email, social media, online banking, subscriptions, loyalty points, and perhaps cryptocurrency. When a loved one passes, Palm Beach families are often surprised to discover they cannot reach any of it. Thoughtfully planning for these digital assets is a modern act of love that spares your family frustration and loss.

What Counts as a Digital Asset

Digital assets include far more than money. Think of irreplaceable photos and videos, email and social media accounts, domain names, online businesses, cryptocurrency and NFTs, and accounts with stored value like PayPal or airline miles. Some carry financial worth; others carry deep sentimental value that no court order can recover once access is lost.

Florida Gives Your Fiduciary Legal Authority

Florida has adopted the Fluharty law known as the Florida Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (Chapter 740). It allows your personal representative, trustee, or agent under a power of attorney to access and manage your digital accounts, but only if your planning documents grant that authority clearly. Without that language, privacy laws and provider terms of service can leave your family locked out entirely.

Use Provider Tools First

Many platforms offer their own settings that take priority over your will. Google’s Inactive Account Manager and Facebook’s Legacy Contact let you name someone to handle your account directly. Setting these up takes minutes and gives your chosen person a clear, authorized path, reducing the burden on your family during a hard time.

Create a Secure Inventory

Make a private inventory of your accounts and where to find login information, then store it securely, never inside your will, which becomes a public record once filed in Palm Beach County probate court. A reputable password manager with a designated emergency contact, or a sealed document kept with your attorney, keeps this sensitive information both safe and accessible.

Special Care for Cryptocurrency

Crypto deserves extra attention. If no one knows the private keys or seed phrase, the assets are simply gone forever, with no bank or company able to recover them. Document access instructions carefully and securely so that real value is not lost to a forgotten phrase.

A Reassuring Closing Note

Updating your power of attorney, will, and trust to include clear digital asset authority under Chapter 740 ensures your family can preserve memories and manage value without a legal fight. Because the rules blend Florida law, federal privacy statutes, and provider agreements, review your plan with a Florida-licensed estate planning attorney serving Palm Beach. Your digital legacy deserves the same care as everything else you leave behind.