Delaware Digital Assets After Death

Delaware answered the online-account question early and then left its answer alone. 12 Del. C. ch. 50, the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets and Digital Accounts Act, has been Delaware law since August 12, 2014. A Delaware executor, guardian, agent or trustee gets the same access the account holder had, a provider has 60 days to answer a proper written request, and a license term written to block the fiduciary is void in this State.

Every section quoted below was read at the State of Delaware's official code site on September 10, 2026. Chapter 50 runs seven sections, § 5001 through § 5007, inside Title 12 of the Delaware Code, Decedents' Estates and Fiduciary Relations. Treat this page as a plain-language map of those seven sections, then take a Delaware lawyer's advice on your own situation, because the request you send a provider is a sworn document.

Settle one thing before the rest. If you arrived here from a national article about digital assets, that article described an "online tool" outranking a will, and a "designated recipient" who can write to a provider without any court appointment. Search chapter 50 for either phrase and nothing comes back. Delaware built a different machine, and on the question of whether a company can write a clause that shuts your executor out, the Delaware answer is the better one.

Delaware's Act Came Before the Revision Other States Adopted

House Bill 345, as amended by House Amendment No. 1 and Senate Amendment No. 1, became 79 Del. Laws, c. 416 when the Governor approved it on August 12, 2014. Six of chapter 50's seven sections still carry that single line of history and nothing after it.

Section 5001 gives the chapter its own name in one sentence: this chapter may be cited as the "Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets and Digital Accounts Act." The Uniform Law Commission's revised act arrived later, and the Commission's own page for the revision lists the 2014 act as an earlier related version. Delaware kept the 2014 machine, and has amended it exactly once, in September 2025, on one narrow point covered further down.

That history is not trivia. It changes which sentences in a national explainer apply to you. Here is the whole chapter searched for the three phrases those explainers are built on, counted on September 10, 2026:

None of that makes a Google Inactive Account Manager setting or a Facebook Legacy Contact pointless. Those settings often decide what a provider actually does. Delaware simply has no section ranking them above the will, the trust or the power of attorney, and no section giving the person you named there a statutory right to write to the provider.

Chapter 50 Is Not Only About Death

Read § 5002(1) before assuming this page is about a funeral. An account holder under chapter 50 is any of the following:

• A decedent
• A disabled person under 12 Del. C. ch. 39, the guardianship chapter
• A principal of a durable personal power of attorney under 12 Del. C. ch. 49A
• A settlor of a trust that was revocable until the settlor's death or incapacity
• A trust, revocable or not, that invokes the chapter

Section 5002(11) sets the other half. A fiduciary "includes a personal representative appointed by the Register of Wills, a guardian appointed pursuant to Chapter 39 of this title, an agent under a durable personal power of attorney pursuant to Chapter 49A of this title, a trustee, or an adviser pursuant to § 3313 of this title." The verb there is "includes," and § 5005(c)(5) carries a catch-all for a fiduciary the section does not name, so that list is a floor rather than a ceiling.

Two consequences worth carrying. A guardian appointed for a living Delaware adult uses the same chapter, and the same § 5005 request, that an executor uses. And Delaware has no probate court, so the personal representative in that definition is appointed by the county Register of Wills. The Delaware probate guide covers how that appointment happens.

What Delaware Counts as a Digital Asset

Section 5002(7) writes the definition as a list rather than a formula. A digital asset means "data, text, emails, documents, audio, video, images, sounds, social media content, social networking content, codes, health care records, health insurance records, computer source codes, computer programs, software, software licenses, databases, or the like, including the usernames and passwords, created, generated, sent, communicated, shared, received, or stored by electronic means on a digital device."

Read the middle of that list again: including the usernames and passwords. Delaware writes the credentials into the definition itself. The login is estate property here, rather than a practical detail sitting outside the statute.

One carve-out follows immediately: a digital asset "does not include an underlying asset or liability that is governed under other provisions of this title." Title 12 is the estates and fiduciary title, so the login and the records behind it are the digital asset, while property the rest of Title 12 already moves is moved by those other provisions.

Section 5002(6) then lists what a digital account covers, and the enumeration is long:

• Email accounts
• Social network and social media accounts
• File sharing accounts
• Health insurance and health-care accounts
• Financial management accounts
• Domain registration and domain name service accounts
• Web hosting accounts
• Tax preparation service accounts
• Online store accounts and the affiliate programs attached to them
• Other online accounts which currently exist or may exist as technology develops

The same subsection reaches an account "regardless of the ownership of the digital device upon which the digital asset is stored," and § 5002(8) defines the device itself to cover desktops, laptops, tablets, peripherals, servers, mobile telephones and smartphones. So whose hardware the account was opened on decides nothing. Section 5003, covered further down, draws its one exclusion around whose account it is.

Where Cryptocurrency Sits Is Genuinely Open

The word cryptocurrency appears nowhere in chapter 50, and neither does any synonym for it. An exchange login is an online account, and § 5002(7) names the username and password as digital assets, so the credentials are clearly inside. Whether the coins behind those credentials are a digital asset, or an "underlying asset" that other provisions of Title 12 govern, is a question the text does not settle on its face. A self-custodied wallet with a seed phrase written on paper raises the same question in a sharper form. Take advice on a Delaware crypto holding rather than assuming either answer.

The Fiduciary Steps Into the Account Holder's Position

This is the section that does the work. Section 5005(a) says a fiduciary with authority over digital assets or digital accounts of an account holder under chapter 50 "shall have the same access as the account holder, and is deemed to:

1. Have the lawful consent of the account holder; and
2. Be an authorized agent or user under all applicable state and federal law and regulations and any end user license agreement."

Read the two limbs together. Arguments a provider might otherwise raise about unauthorized access, and about a fiduciary who is not the person who opened the account, are answered by statute rather than by negotiation. Delaware supplies the consent and the authorization itself.

Section 5004(a) sets the outer edge of that authority. It opens with the words "Except as otherwise provided by a governing instrument or court order", then lets a fiduciary exercise control over any and all rights in the account holder's digital assets and digital accounts "to the extent permitted under applicable state or federal law, including copyright law, or regulations or any end user license agreement". So a will, a trust or a power of attorney can narrow what the fiduciary may do, and federal law still binds.

A Terms-of-Service Limit Is Void in Delaware

Section 5004(b) is the sentence to quote at a provider that points you at its terms. If a provision in an end user license agreement limits a fiduciary's access to or control over a digital asset or digital account, "the provision is void as against the strong public policy of this State, unless the account holder has agreed to the provision by an affirmative act separate from the account holder's assent to other provisions of the end user license agreement."

Three parts of that sentence carry weight:

• Void, not voidable. The limit fails by operation of the statute.
• The escape hatch is narrow. A separate affirmative act means something more than clicking one box that accepts everything at once.
• Choice of law cannot rescue it. Section 5004(c) makes a choice-of-law clause unenforceable against a fiduciary acting under the chapter to the extent it designates law that would enforce a limitation void under subsection (b).

Section 5002(10) then closes the labeling loophole. The term end user license agreement "includes a terms-of-use agreement, terms-of-service agreement, privacy policy, terms and conditions, and license agreement", so renaming the document does not change the outcome.

The One Wall Delaware Cannot Take Down

Federal law still separates the words people wrote from everything else, and Delaware respects that line. Section 5005(b) sorts a request into three tiers, and unless a governing instrument or court order says otherwise a fiduciary may access:

The catalogue tier is worth understanding before you ask for the wrong thing. It tells you that an account existed, who it talked to, and when, which is often all a fiduciary needs to find a subscription, an exchange or a lender. It does not include a single word of any message.

Section 5005(b) carries one further exit. A custodian answers "unless it would be technologically impracticable to provide access to, transfer of, copy of, or destruction of the digital asset or digital account to the fiduciary or to the account holder." Note the closing words: impracticable for the account holder too, rather than merely inconvenient for the company.

What a Valid Written Request Must Carry

Section 5005(c) lists the paper by fiduciary type, and a request missing its item is not a valid written request at all. Section 5002(15) defines the term by pointing straight back at this subsection.

Section 5005(e) then defines the words "certified copy" for this chapter, and the definition is a job you can do yourself: "a copy accompanied by an affidavit attesting that the copy is a true, exact, complete and unaltered photocopy of the original, and that to the best of the affiant's knowledge, said document remains in full force and effect."

One more requirement lives a section away. Section 5006(a)(2) tells the custodian to accept a valid written request "that is originally written in English or is translated into English, under oath of the translator."

The Small Estate Gap Nobody Warns About

Delaware moves personal property up to $50,000 on an affidavit, and the section that does it is headed "Distribution of decedent's property without grant of letters where estate assets do not exceed $50,000", 12 Del. C. § 2306. Letters are exactly what that route avoids.

Section 5005(c)(1) asks a personal representative for a certified copy of the letters. The phrase "small estate" appears nowhere in chapter 50, and no subsection substitutes an affidavit for letters. So a Delaware family that settled a bank account and a car on the § 2306 affidavit holds nothing that satisfies § 5005(c)(1) on its face.

Two routes remain. Write to the provider, describe the affidavit and ask what it will accept, since nothing stops a custodian from being satisfied. Or open an administration with the Register of Wills so letters exist, which costs money and time the affidavit was meant to save. The Delaware small estate affidavit guide covers what the affidavit does and does not reach, and this is a decision worth putting to a Delaware attorney before you spend anything.

Sixty Days, Then the Court of Chancery

Section 5005(d)(1) gives the custodian a clock: comply with a valid written request "within 60 days after receiving" it. If the custodian fails to comply, the fiduciary may apply to the Court for an order directing compliance.

Section 5002(4) names that Court in one line: the Court of Chancery for the State. Delaware's Register of Wills grants the letters, and the chapter 50 compliance application belongs to Chancery.

The 2025 Amendment for a Deceased Minor

This is the newest sentence in the chapter, so anything written about chapter 50 before late 2025 does not carry it.

85 Del. Laws, c. 222, formerly Senate Bill 143, was approved on September 19, 2025 and added § 5005(d)(2). Where the fiduciary applying for an order under paragraph (d)(1) "is a parent or legal guardian of the account holder and the account holder is a deceased minor, the Court shall treat the fiduciary's application as expedited and aim to resolve the application within 30 days after the date the application is filed."

Read the verbs carefully, because the difference matters to a parent counting days. The section directs the Court to treat the application as expedited and to aim at 30 days. It sets a target for the Court rather than a right that ripens on day 31, and it sits downstream of the 60-day custodian clock in (d)(1), which still has to run before an application exists. The same act also tidied (d)(1) itself, swapping "not later than" for "within" and capitalizing "Court."

Employer Accounts Sit Outside the Chapter

Section 5003 sets the reach in two sentences. The chapter applies to a grant of authority to a fiduciary over a digital account or a digital asset, and "digital assets and digital accounts of an employer regularly used by an employee or contractor in the usual course of business are not subject to the provisions of this chapter."

Delaware naming the contractor alongside the employee is worth noting. A consultant's client-issued login sits outside chapter 50 the same way an employee's work inbox does. The employer's own policies and its agreement with the person decide what happens to those, and an executor who writes to a company demanding a former contractor's project workspace is citing a chapter that excludes it.

What a Custodian May Refuse, and What Refusing Costs

Section 5006 is the custodian's own section, and it runs in both directions.

The duty first. Under § 5006(a) a custodian shall accept a valid written request that complies on its face with § 5005, in English or translated under oath.

Then three grounds to refuse, at § 5006(b). A custodian is not required to accept the request if it is not otherwise required to engage in a transaction with the account holder in the same circumstances, if engaging in the transaction would be inconsistent with applicable state or federal law including copyright law, or with regulations or any end user license agreement, or if the custodian has actual knowledge that the fiduciary lacks the authority to perform the act requested.

Section 5006(d) defines that actual knowledge in a way a large company cannot dodge in either direction. A custodian acting through employees is without actual knowledge if the employee handling the request is without it, and "notification of revocation of a valid written request by an account holder or fiduciary to an officer of any custodian shall constitute actual notice to all employees."

Then the remedies at § 5006(e). A custodian that refuses in violation of the section, against a request complying with § 5005(c), faces a court order compelling compliance and "liability for damages, including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, incurred in any action or proceeding that confirms the validity or authority of a fiduciary to act", or that compels acceptance of the request under § 5005(c). Subsections (f) and (g) run the other way, immunizing a custodian acting in good faith, including from civil liability for the accidental destruction of a digital asset or account.

Section 5007 closes the chapter by placing it against the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act at 15 U.S.C. § 7001, modifying that act without touching § 101(c) of it or authorizing electronic delivery of the notices described in its § 103(b).

Write It Down Before Anyone Needs It

Chapter 50 gives a Delaware fiduciary a strong default. Three documents can make the request go faster, and one of them can stop it working at all if it is drafted the way most templates draft it.

The power of attorney. Two separate statutes have to line up. 12 Del. C. § 49A-201(b)(8) makes exercising the rights and powers granted to a fiduciary under chapter 50 one of eight powers an agent holds only if the document expressly grants it, so a general grant of authority to do everything the principal could do reaches none of it. Then § 5005(c)(3) tells the agent what the provider needs to see: a power of attorney that includes an authorization regarding the principal's digital assets or digital accounts. One well-drafted clause satisfies both. The Delaware power of attorney guide covers the execution rules that make the rest of the document work.

The trust. Section 5002(1) makes a settlor of a revocable trust an account holder, and makes a trust that invokes the chapter one as well. Section 5005(c)(4) then lets a trustee send a certification of trust under 12 Del. C. § 3591 instead of the entire instrument, which keeps the family's dispositive terms out of a technology company's inbox. The Delaware revocable living trust guide covers what such a trust does and does not do here.

The will or other governing instrument. Section 5004(a) lets a governing instrument move the default in either direction, and § 5002(13) defines the term to include a will, a trust, a power of attorney under chapter 49 or 49A, an order appointing a guardian over the account holder's property, "or other dispositive, appointive, or nominative instrument of any similar type." Deciding this in advance belongs in the same conversation as everything else in Delaware estate planning.

Steps for a Delaware Fiduciary

1. Get the appointment first. Chapter 50 works through authority you already hold, so the letters, the guardianship order or the executed power of attorney comes before the first request. The Delaware executor duties guide covers qualifying with the Register of Wills.
2. Build the account list from paper. Statements, tax returns, recurring card charges and the phone in the drawer name most of the accounts. The § 5005(b)(2) catalogue tier can fill gaps later without exposing any message content.
3. Decide what you are asking for. Section 5005(b) offers four distinct things: access, transfer, a copy, or destruction. Ask for the narrowest one that does the job, and say so plainly.
4. Assemble the § 5005(c) paper. Match the row in the table above to your own appointment, then wrap the certified copy in the § 5005(e) affidavit, which attests that the copy is true, exact, complete and unaltered and that the document remains in full force and effect.
5. Send it in English. Section 5006(a)(2) accepts a translation only under oath of the translator.
6. Diary 60 days from the day the custodian receives it. That is the § 5005(d)(1) clock, and it starts on receipt rather than on posting.
7. If nothing arrives, § 5005(d)(1) points to the Court of Chancery, and § 5006(e) puts a compliance order plus damages and reasonable attorneys' fees on the table.

When to Talk With a Delaware Attorney

Bring in a Delaware lawyer when:

• The estate holds cryptocurrency, a hardware wallet or a seed phrase, since where those sit under § 5002(7) is unsettled
• You need message content rather than the catalogue, because 18 U.S.C. § 2702(b) is the gate and it is federal
• The family used the § 2306 affidavit and a provider is asking for letters nobody holds
• A provider has refused, and you are weighing a § 5006(e) application against what the account is worth
• The account holder is alive and you are acting as a guardian or under a power of attorney
• A business account, a client-issued login or a contractor's workspace is involved, since § 5003 may put it outside the chapter
• The account holder was a minor and § 5005(d)(2) may apply to your application
• The will, trust or power of attorney says something about digital assets that conflicts with what you want to do

This page explains the sections so you arrive with better questions. A lawyer can draft the request, judge the § 2702(b) problem and decide whether a Chancery application earns its cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Delaware executor get into the deceased person's online accounts?

Yes, and Delaware puts it in unusually direct words. 12 Del. C. § 5005(a) says a fiduciary with authority over digital assets under chapter 50 "shall have the same access as the account holder," and is deemed to have the account holder's lawful consent and to be an authorized agent or user under all applicable state and federal law and any end user license agreement. The access is not automatic on appointment. Section 5005(c)(1) asks a personal representative to send the provider a certified copy of the letters testamentary or letters of administration issued by the county Register of Wills, and a governing instrument or a court order can narrow what the fiduciary may do under § 5004(a).

Does Delaware follow RUFADAA and the online-tool rule?

No. Delaware's law is 12 Del. C. ch. 50, the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets and Digital Accounts Act, enacted by 79 Del. Laws, c. 416 and approved on August 12, 2014, before the Uniform Law Commission published the revised version other states went on to adopt. The phrases "online tool," "designated recipient" and "revised uniform" appear nowhere in the seven sections of chapter 50. A Google Inactive Account Manager or Facebook Legacy Contact setting is still worth using, and it may well decide what a provider does, but no Delaware section ranks it above a will.

How long does a provider have to answer a Delaware fiduciary?

Sixty days. 12 Del. C. § 5005(d)(1) requires a custodian to comply with a valid written request within 60 days after receiving it, and if the custodian fails to comply the fiduciary may apply to the Court for an order directing compliance. Section 5002(4) defines that Court as the Court of Chancery for the State. Section 5006(e) adds teeth: a custodian that refuses in violation of the section faces a court order compelling compliance and liability for damages, including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred in the proceeding.

Can a provider's terms of service block a Delaware executor?

Not on its own. 12 Del. C. § 5004(b) makes a provision in an end user license agreement that limits a fiduciary's access to or control over a digital asset or digital account "void as against the strong public policy of this State," unless the account holder agreed to that provision by an affirmative act separate from assenting to the rest of the agreement. Section 5004(c) stops a choice-of-law clause from rescuing the limit. Section 5002(10) defines the agreement broadly enough to cover a terms-of-use agreement, a terms-of-service agreement, a privacy policy, terms and conditions and a license agreement.

Can a Delaware executor read the deceased person's emails?

Only where federal law lets the provider hand them over. 12 Del. C. § 5005(b)(1) opens the content of an electronic communication to a fiduciary only if the custodian is permitted to disclose that content under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act at 18 U.S.C. § 2702(b). Everything else moves on an easier footing: § 5005(b)(2) covers the catalogue of electronic communications, which § 5002(2) defines as who the account holder communicated with, the time and date, and that person's electronic address, and § 5005(b)(3) covers any other digital account or digital asset.

Does a Delaware small estate affidavit work on a digital account?

It does not fit the section on its face. 12 Del. C. § 2306 is headed "Distribution of decedent's property without grant of letters where estate assets do not exceed $50,000", so a family that used the affidavit holds no letters, and 12 Del. C. § 5005(c)(1) asks a personal representative for a certified copy of the letters testamentary or letters of administration. The phrase "small estate" appears nowhere in chapter 50. Two routes are left: ask the provider in writing what it will accept, or open an administration with the Register of Wills so letters exist. Take a Delaware lawyer's advice before deciding which is worth the cost.

What does a Delaware power of attorney need to say about digital accounts?

Two things, in two different statutes. 12 Del. C. § 49A-201(b)(8) makes exercising the rights and powers granted to a fiduciary under chapter 50 one of eight powers an agent holds only if the document expressly grants it, so a general grant of authority to do everything the principal could do does not reach digital accounts. Then 12 Del. C. § 5005(c)(3) tells the agent what to send the provider: a certified copy of the power of attorney that authorizes the agent over the principal's affairs and that includes an authorization regarding the principal's digital assets or digital accounts, plus, where the agent's digital-asset power is conditioned on incapacity, a licensed physician's certification or a Court order that the account holder is incapacitated.

Related Guides

• Delaware Executor Duties
• Delaware Power of Attorney
• Delaware Estate Planning Basics
• Delaware Revocable Living Trust
• Delaware Small Estate Affidavit
• Delaware Guardianship Planning
• Delaware Probate Guide

Sources:

• Title: 12 Del. C. § 5001, Short title. Publisher: State of Delaware, Delaware Code Online. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c050/index.html#5001
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 5002, Definitions. Publisher: State of Delaware, Delaware Code Online. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c050/index.html#5002
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 5003, Applicability. Publisher: State of Delaware, Delaware Code Online. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c050/index.html#5003
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 5004, Control of digital accounts and digital assets by a fiduciary. Publisher: State of Delaware, Delaware Code Online. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c050/index.html#5004
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 5005, Recovery of digital assets and digital accounts from a custodian. Publisher: State of Delaware, Delaware Code Online. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c050/index.html#5005
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 5006, Custodian immunity. Publisher: State of Delaware, Delaware Code Online. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c050/index.html#5006
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 5007, Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act. Publisher: State of Delaware, Delaware Code Online. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c050/index.html#5007
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 49A-201, Grant of general authority; authority that requires specific grant. Publisher: State of Delaware, Delaware Code Online. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c049a/sc02/index.html#49A-201
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 2306, Distribution of decedent's property without grant of letters where estate assets do not exceed $50,000. Publisher: State of Delaware, Delaware Code Online. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c023/sc01/index.html#2306
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 3591, Certification of trust. Publisher: State of Delaware, Delaware Code Online. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c035/sc07/index.html#3591
• Title: 12 Del. C. § 1501, Necessity for letters testamentary or of administration. Publisher: State of Delaware, Delaware Code Online. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title12/c015/sc01/index.html#1501
• Title: 79 Del. Laws, c. 416 (House Bill 345), An Act to Amend Title 12 of the Delaware Code Relating to Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets and Digital Accounts. Publisher: Delaware General Assembly. Publication Date: Approved August 12, 2014; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://legis.delaware.gov/SessionLaws?volume=79&chapter=416
• Title: 85 Del. Laws, c. 222 (Senate Bill 143), An Act to Amend Title 12 of the Delaware Code Relating to Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets and Digital Accounts. Publisher: Delaware General Assembly. Publication Date: Approved September 19, 2025; accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://legis.delaware.gov/SessionLaws?volume=85&chapter=222
• Title: Court of Chancery. Publisher: Delaware Courts, State of Delaware. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://courts.delaware.gov/chancery/
• Title: Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, Revised. Publisher: Uniform Law Commission. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-09-10. URL: https://www.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-home?CommunityKey=f7237fc4-74c2-4728-81c6-b39a91ecdf22

It is not legal advice.