Almost everyone has online accounts these days and the number is highly unlikely to shrink as the world continues it’s embrace of the digital revolution. However, accessing an account for the any fiduciary that might one day be appointed, be it as guardian, estate administrator, or any other, is extremely difficult in many circumstances. That is because the terms of service for the online accounts dictate access and they often reject the ability for anyone but the account owner to control and use the account. In the last year, an attempt was made to streamline access with the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act but the proposal was met with much opposition from trade groups and eventually was approved by one state alone. However, following the act’s defeat, the drafters worked in tandem with trade groups to publish a revised act which incorporates many of the objections from industry. Only time will tell if this proposed legislation is able to get off the ground but some action is needed to solve this long simmering problem.
See Jena L Levin & John T. Brooks, Administration of Trusts And Estates in the Digital Age, Wealth Management, December 1, 2015.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
