Colorado Digital Assets Planning

Most Colorado estates now include property that has no paper form: email and cloud photos, social media accounts, an online bank login, maybe a Coinbase balance or a hardware wallet in a drawer. These digital assets carry real financial and sentimental value, yet a family often has no idea an account exists, let alone how to reach it. In Colorado, one specific statute governs who may reach those accounts after death or incapacity, and it sets a firm deadline on the companies that hold them. This guide leads with what that Colorado law actually says, then covers what you can do now so your own personal representative is not locked out, and where cryptocurrency needs special handling. It pairs with the Colorado estate planning basics guide, which covers the core documents every adult needs.

Colorado's Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act

Colorado's digital-asset rules live in the Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 15, Article 1, Part 15, enacted as Senate Bill 16-088 and effective in 2016. Section 15-1-1501 supplies the short title: this part "may be cited as the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act," and the codified sections run from C.R.S. 15-1-1501 through 15-1-1518. This is the law a Colorado fiduciary works from, so it is worth knowing what the Colorado sections actually do rather than reasoning from a generic summary.

Three points are specific to how Colorado codified the act:

Colorado's codified order of priority (15-1-1504). Section 15-1-1504, "User direction for disclosure of digital assets," is where Colorado writes the three-tier rule into statute. An online tool a provider offers, if you use it, controls first; if you do not, a direction in your will, trust, or power of attorney controls; and only if neither exists does the provider's terms-of-service agreement decide. That statutory order is what a Colorado personal representative and a provider both point to, and it is spelled out in the section headings below.

Content versus catalogue, split across two Colorado sections. Colorado does not treat all of a deceased person's communications alike. Section 15-1-1507 covers "disclosure of content of electronic communications of a deceased user," while section 15-1-1508 covers "disclosure of other digital assets of a deceased user." The practical result is that the catalogue of communications (the record that a message existed) is reachable on a lower showing than the content (the words inside), and the content requires the deceased person's consent through an online tool or an estate document. This split is the single most important thing to plan around in Colorado, and it is why the sections are numbered separately.

A statutory 60-day compliance clock (15-1-1516). Section 15-1-1516, "custodian compliance and immunity," gives Colorado families real leverage. It requires a custodian (the provider holding the account) to comply with a proper request "not later than sixty days after receipt of the information required." A provider that has your Letters, the death certificate, and the statutory documentation cannot stall indefinitely. The same section grants the provider immunity for good-faith compliance, which is often what a hesitant company is waiting to hear.

These sections tie directly into Colorado probate. The Letters that a provider asks for are issued when the District Court appoints a personal representative, except in the City and County of Denver, where the separate Denver Probate Court handles the appointment. That court order is the credential the 60-day clock runs against.

What Counts as a Digital Asset Under the Colorado Act

Section 15-1-1502 defines a digital asset broadly as an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. In practical terms, that sweeps in nearly everything you own or manage online:

Email accounts such as Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo Mail
Cloud storage and photo libraries on iCloud, Google Drive, or Dropbox
Social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and TikTok
Cryptocurrency and exchange accounts including Bitcoin, Ethereum, tokens, and balances on Coinbase or Kraken
Domain names and websites the person registered or ran
Online financial accounts like online banking, PayPal, and Venmo
Loyalty and rewards balances such as airline miles and credit card points
Subscriptions for streaming, software, and storage that keep charging the estate
Digital business assets like an Etsy or Shopify store, an ad account, or an affiliate account

One line matters for estate work: the digital asset is the electronic record itself, not the money behind it. The dollars in an online bank account still pass through Colorado's ordinary financial and probate rules. The act governs the login and the records, not the underlying account balance.

How Colorado's 15-1-1504 Priority Order Works in Practice

Section 15-1-1504 sets the order a Colorado fiduciary and a provider follow. Walk down it in this sequence.

First, an online tool the provider offers. If a provider gives users a built-in way to direct what happens to an account, and the person used it, that choice controls above everything else under 15-1-1504. These online tools include Google Inactive Account Manager (name people to receive specific data, or delete the account, after a set period of inactivity), Facebook Legacy Contact (name someone to manage a memorialized profile), and Apple Digital Legacy (name a legacy contact who can request iCloud content after death). A valid online tool designation beats your will. If you used Google Inactive Account Manager to send your Gmail data to your daughter, your personal representative cannot override that and route it to your son, so setting these tools now is the single most reliable step you can take.

Second, your will, trust, or power of attorney. If no online tool applies, 15-1-1504 looks to your own documents. A clause in your will, a trust, or a power of attorney that grants authority over digital accounts gives your fiduciary a solid legal basis to ask providers for access.

Third, the provider's terms of service. With no online tool and no direction in your documents, the terms-of-service agreement decides. This is the weakest position: many platforms restrict account sharing and give a personal representative little beyond memorialization or deletion.

Content Versus Catalogue: Colorado 15-1-1507 and 15-1-1508

As noted above, Colorado splits a deceased user's communications across two sections, and the difference decides what a personal representative actually sees:

The catalogue is the record that a message existed: who it was to or from, the date and time, and often the subject line.
The content is the words inside the message.

Under section 15-1-1508, a Colorado fiduciary can generally reach a deceased user's catalogue and other digital assets on the statutory documentation. Under section 15-1-1507, reaching the content of electronic communications requires the deceased person's consent, given through an online tool or written into the will, trust, or power of attorney. Without that consent, a Colorado personal representative may learn that emails were exchanged with a bank but not read what they said. This is why generic "my personal representative may handle my affairs" language often is not enough for email content, and why specific authorization matters.

Steps to Take Now

A few deliberate steps while you are healthy save your family months of frustration later.

Use the Online Legacy Tools Today

Set up the provider tools on the accounts that matter. They take minutes and sit at the top of the priority order:

Google: Data and privacy settings, then "Make a plan for your account"
Facebook: Settings, then Memorialization Settings, to name a Legacy Contact
Apple: Your name, then Password and Security, then Legacy Contact

Add Explicit Authorization to Your Documents

Ask the attorney who prepares your will, trust, or power of attorney to include a digital assets clause that authorizes your fiduciary to access, manage, and close your digital accounts, and that expressly consents to disclosure of the content of your electronic communications. That consent is what unlocks Tier 2 for email and messages.

Keep an Inventory, Not a List of Passwords

Build a running inventory of your accounts and where the credentials live, then keep it current. Do not put passwords in your will, because a will becomes public record when it is filed with the probate court. Instead:

Store credentials in a password manager and arrange for your fiduciary to reach the master password
Keep a sealed letter of instruction with your estate documents that lists accounts and how to access them
Reference that separate document in your will rather than pasting the details into the will itself

Secure Cryptocurrency Separately

Crypto is the one asset class that can vanish permanently. Store seed phrases and private keys in a safe or safe deposit box, keep them out of any unsecured digital file, and tell your fiduciary where they are without exposing them to everyday risk. More on crypto below.

How a Personal Representative Requests Access After Death

When you are the personal representative of a Colorado estate, sections 15-1-1504 through 15-1-1508 and 15-1-1516 give you a workable path:

Check for an online tool designation first. Under 15-1-1504, look at each provider's legacy, memorialization, or inactive account pages before anything else, because a designation there controls over your Letters.
Review the will and any trust. Confirm what digital asset authority the documents grant, and whether they consent to content of communications under 15-1-1507.
Gather your documentation. Providers generally require a certified copy of your Letters (the order from the District Court, or the Denver Probate Court in Denver, proving your appointment), a certified death certificate, and a written request. For the content of communications, 15-1-1507 lets a provider require a court order; for the catalogue and other assets, 15-1-1508 sets a lower bar.
Submit the request through the provider's official channel and hold them to the 60-day clock. Section 15-1-1516 requires a custodian to comply within sixty days of receiving the required information, so date your request and keep records. Providers differ widely: Google's process is functional, Meta is slower, and some small platforms have no process at all. Document every request and response.

If a provider refuses a request that complies with the act, a Colorado probate attorney can help you enforce your rights, and for the content of communications you may need a court order.

Cryptocurrency: Special Care

Cryptocurrency behaves unlike any other digital asset because no company holds it for you. Access depends entirely on the private key, or the seed phrase (a series of words that regenerates the key).

If the person held crypto on an exchange such as Coinbase or Kraken, the exchange controls the keys, and you can work through its estate process much like a financial institution, providing your Letters and the death certificate. If the person used a self-custody wallet, a hardware device or a software wallet, then no key means no access. There is no customer service line and no court order that can recover it. The crypto is simply gone.

When settling an estate that may hold crypto, search for a small hardware wallet device, printed or written seed phrases (often 12 or 24 words), files named "wallet," "seed," or "recovery," and any exchange login records. Once you secure access, document the holdings promptly for the inventory, since crypto values swing sharply and the date-of-death value sets both the estate figure and the beneficiary's basis.

Stay Within Authorized Access

One caution runs through all of this. Using a deceased person's stored password to log in, even with good intentions, sits in a legal gray area. Federal law, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Stored Communications Act, restricts unauthorized computer and account access, and most providers' terms forbid password sharing. The safer path is to use the RUFADAA process and the provider's official channels rather than self-help logins. When in doubt, a Colorado estate attorney can tell you where the line sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my Colorado personal representative automatically get into my online accounts?

No. Under C.R.S. 15-1-1504, access depends on the directions you left. If you used an online tool or added digital asset authority to your will, trust, or power of attorney, your personal representative has a legal basis to request access. Without either, the provider's terms-of-service agreement controls, and many restrict what a fiduciary may see.

Can a provider refuse my fiduciary's request?

A provider can require proper documentation, such as your Letters, a death certificate, and a written request, and can insist on a court order for the content of communications under C.R.S. 15-1-1507. It cannot lawfully refuse a valid request that complies with the Colorado act, and under C.R.S. 15-1-1516 it must comply within sixty days of receiving the required information.

What happens to cryptocurrency if no one has the private keys?

For a self-custody wallet, it is effectively lost forever. No central authority can recover crypto without the private key or seed phrase, which is why securing and documenting them matters so much.

Should I put my passwords in my will?

No. A will becomes public record when it is filed with the probate court. Keep passwords in a password manager or a sealed letter of instruction and reference that separate document in your will.

Sources:

Title: Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 15, Article 1, Part 15, sections 15-1-1501 through 15-1-1518, Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (enacted by Senate Bill 16-088, effective 2016). Publisher: Colorado General Assembly (Office of Legislative Legal Services). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-07-02. URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/colorado-revised-statutes
Title: Senate Bill 16-088, Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (adds Part 15 to Article 1 of Title 15; short title at 15-1-1501; 60-day compliance requirement at 15-1-1516). Publisher: Colorado General Assembly. Publication Date: Signed 2016, accessed 2026-07-02. URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb16-088
Title: Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (2015). Publisher: Uniform Law Commission. Publication Date: 2015, accessed 2026-07-02. URL: https://www.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-home?CommunityKey=f7237fc4-74c2-4728-81c6-b39a91ecdf22
Title: Inactive Account Manager. Publisher: Google. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-07-01. URL: https://myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy
Title: Add a Legacy Contact for a memorialized account. Publisher: Meta (Facebook). Publication Date: Accessed 2026-07-01. URL: https://www.facebook.com/help/1568013990080948

This guide provides general information about digital assets and RUFADAA in Colorado. Digital asset planning involves legal and technical choices specific to your situation, so consult a Colorado estate planning attorney for advice on your accounts. It is not legal advice.