What if the decedent never set up Legacy Contact / Inactive Account Manager?

Then you're back to court orders and platform-by-platform processes. It's slower and not always successful for full account access, but data export is usually achievable for most major platforms.

Can a PR access work email and chat (Slack, Teams) at the decedent's employer?

No — that's the employer's data, not the decedent's. The employer controls access. PRs typically request return of any personal items but not access to company systems.

What about a password manager (1Password, LastPass)?

Most password managers have emergency-access or recovery features. If set up pre-death, recovery is straightforward. If not, the master password is required and effectively unrecoverable without it.

What's the best estate-planning step for digital assets?

Designate Legacy Contacts on Apple and Inactive Account Manager on Google. Document the existence of accounts (not credentials) in a written list reviewed annually. For crypto, plan separately and seriously — the keys problem is unforgiving.

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— Guide · 10-min read · 2026 update

Digital assets, crypto & online accounts

Florida's 2026 reforms gave personal representatives clearer authority to access digital accounts. Here's how it works in practice — Apple, Google, Meta, exchanges, and the rest.

Updated January 2026

Until recently, accessing a deceased person's digital accounts was a legal gray zone. Email passwords, photo libraries, social media, cloud-stored documents, cryptocurrency wallets — none of it had clear procedures. Tech companies often refused access citing terms of service. Personal representatives were stuck.

Florida's 2026 reforms clarified statutory authority for personal representatives to access digital assets. Combined with the federal RUFADAA framework adopted by Florida earlier, the law now provides a workable path. The technical reality, though, varies wildly by platform — and some assets remain genuinely difficult to recover.

What changed

Florida's 2026 update to the Probate Code clarified that personal representatives have statutory authority to access digital assets, subject to the platform's compliance and the decedent's pre-death directives (legacy contacts, account memorialization settings, etc.).

What 'digital assets' actually means

Email accounts — Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud Mail, etc.
Cloud storage — Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox, photos.
Social media — Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, LinkedIn.
Subscription services — Netflix, Spotify, gym apps.
Cryptocurrency — exchange-held (Coinbase, Kraken) and self-custody (hardware wallets, paper wallets).
Domain names and websites — registered domains, hosted sites.
Digital purchases — Kindle books, iTunes movies, Steam games.
Loyalty / rewards programs — airline miles, hotel points.
Income-producing accounts — Etsy shops, YouTube channels, blog ad revenue.

Apple — Legacy Contact + court order

Apple introduced Legacy Contact in 2021. If the decedent designated a Legacy Contact while alive, that person can request access with a death certificate and the access key. Far simpler than the alternative.

Without a Legacy Contact: PR must obtain a court order specifically authorizing access to the Apple ID. Apple's process is slow (4–8 weeks) and they are strict about the order's wording. We've drafted these many times.

Google — Inactive Account Manager + court order

Google's Inactive Account Manager lets users designate trusted contacts who get notified after a period of inactivity. If the decedent set one up, that contact can request data.

Without an Inactive Account Manager designation: PR fills out Google's family-member request form. Google decides case-by-case; for full account access (rather than just data export), a court order may be required. Photo and email access without account control is sometimes available without court order.

Meta (Facebook, Instagram) — Memorialization + Legacy Contact

Facebook accounts can be memorialized (turned into a memorial page) or deleted at the family's request, with a death certificate. Legacy Contact (designated pre-death) can manage the memorialized account.

Instagram accounts can be memorialized or removed similarly. Account access for posting/messaging is generally not permitted even with court orders — Meta's policy is firm here.

Cryptocurrency — the special case

Crypto is genuinely different. The category splits into two:

Exchange-held crypto (Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, Gemini): treated like a brokerage account. Exchange has KYC, knows the account holder, accepts death certificates and Letters of Administration. Process is similar to claiming any financial account, though crypto exchanges are sometimes slower than traditional brokerages.
Self-custody crypto (hardware wallet, paper wallet, software wallet): if you don't have the seed phrase or private keys, the crypto is functionally lost. There is no 'reset password' and no central authority to appeal to. We can't recover crypto without the keys — full stop.

Critical for crypto holders

If you hold any meaningful self-custody crypto, document the existence (not the keys themselves) in your estate plan, and create a separate secure mechanism for transferring the keys at death. Sealed letter to attorney, multi-sig with trusted parties, dedicated services like Casa Inheritance — all are options. Doing nothing means your heirs lose the crypto.

Cloud storage and photos

Personal photo libraries are emotionally one of the highest-value digital asset categories. Most cloud providers will release photos to verified family members with proper documentation, even when fuller account access isn't permitted.

iCloud Photos: through Legacy Contact (best) or court order.
Google Photos: through Inactive Account Manager (best) or family-member request.
Amazon Photos: family member request with death certificate.
Dropbox / OneDrive: similar process; provide death cert and Letters.
Local backups: check for external drives, computer hard drives, USB drives in the estate. Often the easiest source of photos.

Subscriptions and recurring charges

Subscriptions don't get accessed — they get cancelled. PRs should cancel within the first month or two:

Streaming: Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Apple Music — cancel via account or family-member request.
Software: Microsoft 365, Adobe Creative Cloud, antivirus subscriptions.
Storage: cloud storage plans (after data is preserved).
Shopping: Amazon Prime, Costco online, etc.
Gym, magazines, dating apps, niche services — easy to overlook; check 6 months of credit card statements to find them.

Some subscriptions auto-cancel when the linked card is cancelled. Cancel the card first if account-by-account cancellation is too tedious — but only after data preservation is complete.

Two-factor authentication after death

This is the biggest practical obstacle. Many accounts the PR is trying to access have 2FA tied to a phone number or authenticator app. After death:

Phone: keep the decedent's phone active and in your possession. Don't cancel the phone plan immediately — many 2FA codes flow through SMS.
Authenticator apps (Google Authenticator, Authy): on the decedent's phone. If the phone is locked, this is a problem.
Hardware keys (YubiKey): physical device. Locate it; the account is functionally inaccessible without it.
Backup codes: sometimes printed and stored with important papers. Look for them.

Best practice

Keep the decedent's phone powered on and in your possession for at least 60–90 days. Most 2FA challenges resolve through SMS to the linked number. Cancelling the phone plan early is one of the most common reasons digital asset access fails.

Income-producing digital assets

Some digital assets have ongoing economic value — they're not just data, they're businesses.

YouTube channels with monetization: revenue stream, transferable to heirs with documentation.
Etsy / eBay shops: business interests; transferable but require platform consent.
Blogs with ad revenue: similar.
Domain names: have market value; can be sold or transferred.
Newsletter subscribers / Substack: can be transferred to heirs who continue or sell the operation.

These are rarer than the everyday digital asset categories but matter when they apply. We treat them as business interests during administration.

— Common questions

What people ask us about this.

Legally, generally yes (Florida's reform clarified PR authority for digital assets). Practically, modern devices and accounts have strong protection. Even with the device, password recovery often requires platform involvement.

Digital assets are getting easier to handle as platforms mature and Florida law catches up. The 2026 reforms helped. The biggest single thing decedents can do for their families: designate Legacy Contacts on Apple and Google, and write down where the crypto keys are. Those two steps prevent most digital-asset problems.

— Read next

Related guides

Personal Representative duties

Where digital asset access fits in PR work

Florida probate timeline 2026

2026 reform context

When to update your estate plan

Including digital asset directives

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