District of Columbia Digital Assets

Your email, cloud photos, social media, online bank logins, and any crypto wallet are all property a family has to deal with after a death. The District of Columbia answers who may reach them with the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act of 2020, codified at D.C. Code §§ 21-2501 through 21-2518 by D.C. Law 23-189, effective March 16, 2021. Every section cited below was read in the District's official codified text on October 5, 2026, and none had been amended since enactment.

The short version: what you set up with the provider wins first, your written documents come next, and the provider's terms of service fill any gap. A personal representative gets the list of who you wrote to on a simple showing, but the actual text of your emails only with your consent or a court order.

This page explains the D.C. rules, the steps that keep your fiduciary from being locked out, and where cryptocurrency needs extra care. It pairs with the guide on granting an agent digital access.

Who the D.C. Act Covers

The act applies to a provider whenever the account holder lives in the District or lived in the District at death (D.C. Code § 21-2503(b)). It reaches wills, powers of attorney, and trusts signed before or after March 16, 2021, and estates of people who died before or after that date (§ 21-2503(a)). It does not cover an employer's digital assets that an employee uses for the employer's business (§ 21-2503(c)), so a work email account stays with the employer.

The statute uses a few defined words you will see on every provider form (D.C. Code § 21-2502):

User: the person who has the account.
Custodian: the company that carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores the user's digital asset, such as an email or cloud provider.
Fiduciary: a personal representative, conservator, agent under a power of attorney, or trustee. D.C. also counts a guardian who receives money for an individual under § 21-2047(b)(1).
Online tool: a provider's separate setting, distinct from its terms of service, where you say who may or may not see your accounts.
Catalogue of electronic communications: who you communicated with, the time and date, and their electronic address. It excludes the message content.

On this page

What Counts as a Digital Asset

Section 21-2502(a)(9) defines a digital asset as "an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest." That covers most of what you keep online:

Email accounts and the messages in them
Cloud storage and photo libraries
Social media accounts
Online banking, payment app, and brokerage logins
Domain names, websites, and online stores
Loyalty points and airline miles held in an account
Files saved on a laptop, phone, or external storage device

One limit matters. The definition excludes "an underlying asset or liability unless the asset or liability is itself an electronic record." The money in an online bank account still passes under the District's ordinary probate and nonprobate rules. The act governs the login and the records, not the balance behind them.

The D.C. Order of Priority

D.C. Code § 21-2504 sets three tiers. Here is how they stack.

A provider's online tool. You may use an online tool to tell a provider to disclose, or not disclose, some or all of your digital assets to a designated recipient, including message content. If the tool lets you change or delete the direction at all times, that direction overrides a contrary instruction in your will, trust, power of attorney, or other record (§ 21-2504(a)). Google's Inactive Account Manager, Facebook's Legacy Contact, and Apple's Digital Legacy are the tools most people meet.
Your will, trust, power of attorney, or other record. If you never used an online tool, or the provider does not offer one, your own documents may allow or forbid disclosure to a fiduciary, including the content of emails and messages (§ 21-2504(b)).
The terms of service. If you gave no direction at all, the provider's terms of service control. A fiduciary's access "may be modified or eliminated" by the user, by federal law, or by those terms (D.C. Code § 21-2505(c)).

Your direction under tier 1 or tier 2 beats a terms-of-service clause, but only one that did not make you act "affirmatively and distinctly" from clicking "I agree" (§ 21-2504(c)). The act also gives a fiduciary no new rights beyond the ones you held yourself (§ 21-2505(b)).

Content Versus Catalogue

The D.C. act splits a deceased person's accounts into two classes, and each has its own section.

Message content (D.C. Code § 21-2507). A custodian must disclose the content of emails and messages to the personal representative only if the user consented, or if the Superior Court directs disclosure when the user left no direction. Consent can come through an online tool or a will, trust, power of attorney, or other record.

Everything else (D.C. Code § 21-2508). Unless the user prohibited it or the Superior Court orders otherwise, a custodian must disclose the catalogue of communications and the user's other digital assets. No consent is needed for this class.

That is why generic "handle my affairs" language in a will often falls short. If you want your personal representative to read your email, say so in writing.

How a D.C. Personal Representative Requests Access

When you serve as personal representative, the request runs on the paperwork you already hold. Let's break it down.

Check for an online tool first. Look at the provider's legacy, memorialization, or inactive-account pages. A valid online tool direction controls over everything else under § 21-2504(a).
Read the will and any trust for language about digital assets and, above all, for consent to disclose message content.
Gather the documents. Both §§ 21-2507 and 21-2508 ask for a written request, in paper or electronic form, and a certified copy of the death certificate. They also ask for a certified copy of the letter of appointment of the representative, or a small-estate affidavit, or a court order. For message content, add a copy of the will, trust, power of attorney, or other record showing consent, unless the user gave direction through an online tool.
Expect follow-up questions. The provider may ask for the account number or username, evidence linking the account to the user, or a Superior Court finding. For non-content assets under § 21-2508(a)(4)(C), it may instead accept your affidavit that disclosure is reasonably necessary to administer the estate.
Track the 60-day clock. Under D.C. Code § 21-2516(a), the provider must comply no later than 60 days after it receives the required information. If it does not, you may apply to the Superior Court for an order directing compliance. That order must find that compliance does not violate 18 U.S.C. § 2702 (§ 21-2516(b)).

The small-estate affidavit option matters in the District, because many estates close without a full appointment. If you are deciding between routes, read the District of Columbia small estate guide first.

Two more rules can slow a request. A provider may deny it if it knows of lawful access to the account after it received your request (§ 21-2516(d)). And unless it has been told the user died, it must notify the user that someone asked for disclosure (§ 21-2516(c)).

What the Provider May Do

Under D.C. Code § 21-2506, the provider picks how to disclose. It may grant full access, grant partial access sufficient for your tasks, or hand over a copy of any digital asset the user could have reached on the date of the request. It may charge a reasonable administrative fee and may decline to disclose assets the user deleted.

If you ask for only some assets and separating them would be an undue burden, the provider may decline. Either side can then ask the Superior Court to order disclosure of a date-limited subset, all of the assets, none of them, or all of them to the court for private review (§ 21-2506(d)).

You can also close an account. D.C. Code § 21-2515(g) lets a fiduciary ask the provider in writing to terminate it, with a certified death certificate and the letter of appointment, small-estate affidavit, court order, power of attorney, or trust that gives you authority. Closing paid subscriptions early stops charges against the estate.

Your Duties Once You Have Access

Access comes with limits. Under § 21-2515(a), the same duties that govern tangible property apply to digital assets: the duty of care, the duty of loyalty, and the duty of confidentiality. Your authority is subject to the terms of service (unless the user gave direction under § 21-2504), to copyright and other law, and to the scope of your duties (§ 21-2515(b)).

One line in § 21-2515(b)(4) deserves a plain reading: a fiduciary's authority "shall not be used to impersonate the user." Do not post as the deceased person or send messages in their name.

The act also protects you. A fiduciary acting within the scope of their duties is an authorized user for federal and District computer-fraud and unauthorized-access laws (§ 21-2515(d)). A fiduciary with authority over the decedent's tangible personal property, such as a laptop or phone, may access that device and the digital assets stored on it (§ 21-2515(e)). Report the accounts and balances you find on the estate inventory.

Agents Under a D.C. Power of Attorney

While you are alive, your agent's reach depends on the wording of your power of attorney.

Message content (D.C. Code § 21-2509). A custodian discloses content to an agent only to the extent the power of attorney expressly grants authority over the content of electronic communications. The agent also gives a written request, a copy of the power of attorney, and a certification under penalty of perjury that it is still valid.
Catalogue and other assets (D.C. Code § 21-2510). An agent with specific authority over digital assets, or general authority to act for you, can get these with the same written request, copy, and certification.

Ask the person drafting your D.C. power of attorney to add express content authority if you want your agent to manage email. The power ends at death, and the personal representative takes over from there.

Steps to Take Now

A few moves while you are healthy save your family months later. Here is why each one counts.

Set up online tools today

They sit at the top of the D.C. priority order and take minutes:

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 Sign-In and Security, then Legacy Contact

Ask the attorney preparing your will, trust, or power of attorney for a clause that authorizes your fiduciary to access, manage, and close your accounts and that consents to disclosure of the content of your electronic communications. That consent is what § 21-2507(a)(4) asks a personal representative to show.

Keep an inventory, not a password list

List your accounts and where the credentials live, and keep it current. Store passwords in a password manager or a sealed letter of instruction kept with your estate papers, then refer to that letter in your will rather than copying passwords into it.

Treat crypto separately

The D.C. act never names cryptocurrency. A coin held on an exchange works like any other custodied account: the exchange holds the keys and runs its own estate process. A self-custody wallet has no custodian at all. Section 21-2515(c) lets a fiduciary access a digital asset that no custodian holds, but that right is worth nothing without the private keys or seed phrase. No provider and no court order can rebuild a lost seed phrase.

Store seed phrases on paper in a safe or a safe deposit box, and tell your fiduciary where to look. When you settle an estate, search for hardware wallet devices, written 12-word or 24-word phrases, and exchange login records, then record the holdings promptly at their date-of-death value.

For the rest of your plan, see D.C. estate planning basics, and for how accounts with a named beneficiary skip probate, read avoiding probate in D.C..

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a D.C. personal representative automatically get into the decedent's email?

No. Under D.C. Code § 21-2507, a custodian discloses the content of emails and messages to a personal representative only if the deceased user consented, through an online tool or in a will, trust, power of attorney, or other record, or if the Superior Court directs disclosure. The catalogue of who the user wrote to and when, plus other digital assets, comes on a lighter showing under § 21-2508.

Can I use a small-estate affidavit instead of letters to request digital assets in D.C.?

Yes. D.C. Code §§ 21-2507(a)(3) and 21-2508(a)(3) accept a certified copy of the letter of appointment of the representative, a small-estate affidavit, or a court order. You still send a written request and a certified copy of the death certificate.

How long does a provider have to answer a D.C. digital assets request?

Sixty days. D.C. Code § 21-2516(a) requires a custodian to comply no later than 60 days after it receives the required information. If it does not, the fiduciary may apply to the Superior Court for an order directing compliance.

Does a D.C. power of attorney give my agent access to my email?

Only if it says so. D.C. Code § 21-2509 requires a power of attorney that expressly grants the agent authority over the content of electronic communications. Under § 21-2510, general authority to act for you is enough for the catalogue and other digital assets, but not for message content.

Should I put my passwords in my will?

No. Passwords change, and a will is read by the court and the people named in it. Keep credentials in a password manager or a sealed letter of instruction, and give your fiduciary written authority in your will, trust, or power of attorney instead. D.C. Code § 21-2515(b)(4) also bars a fiduciary from using that authority to impersonate you.

This guide is general information about the District of Columbia digital assets law. Confirm anything that affects your situation with a licensed D.C. attorney.

Sources:

Title: D.C. Code § 21-2501, Short title. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-10-05. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/21-2501
Title: D.C. Code § 21-2502, Definitions. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-10-05. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/21-2502
Title: D.C. Code § 21-2503, Applicability. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-10-05. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/21-2503
Title: D.C. Code § 21-2504, User direction for disclosure of digital assets. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-10-05. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/21-2504
Title: D.C. Code § 21-2505, Terms-of-service agreement. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-10-05. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/21-2505
Title: D.C. Code § 21-2506, Procedure for disclosing digital assets. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-10-05. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/21-2506
Title: D.C. Code § 21-2507, Disclosure of contents of electronic communications of deceased user. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-10-05. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/21-2507
Title: D.C. Code § 21-2508, Disclosure of other digital assets of deceased user. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-10-05. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/21-2508
Title: D.C. Code § 21-2509, Disclosure of content of electronic communications of principal. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-10-05. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/21-2509
Title: D.C. Code § 21-2510, Disclosure of other digital assets of principal. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-10-05. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/21-2510
Title: D.C. Code § 21-2515, Fiduciary duty and authority. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-10-05. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/21-2515
Title: D.C. Code § 21-2516, Custodian compliance and immunity. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Code. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-10-05. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/21-2516

It is not legal advice.