Georgia Digital Assets Planning

Most Georgia 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. This guide explains how Georgia law lets a fiduciary access a deceased person's digital assets, what you can do now so your own executor is not locked out, and where cryptocurrency needs special handling. It pairs with the Georgia estate planning basics guide, which covers the core documents every adult needs.

Georgia's Digital Assets Statute: O.C.G.A. Title 53, Chapter 13

Georgia's rules for reaching a deceased person's online accounts are codified, and they are more specific than a generic summary suggests. The statute is the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, enacted by Senate Bill 301 in 2018 and placed in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated at O.C.G.A. Title 53 (Wills, Trusts, and Administration of Estates), Chapter 13, sections 53-13-1 through 53-13-40. Section 53-13-1 gives it its short title, and 53-13-2 supplies the definitions. Because Chapter 13 sits inside Title 53, the same title that governs Georgia probate, the access process runs through the executor or administrator the Georgia Probate Court appoints, and the Probate Court is where a fiduciary goes if a court order becomes necessary.

Georgia's version does three concrete things that matter to a family: it fixes an order of priority for who decides access (53-13-10), it splits an email account into two layers with different rules (the disclosure sections at 53-13-13 through 53-13-30), and it puts a clock on the companies that hold the accounts (53-13-31). The sections below lead with those Georgia rules, then compress the shared mechanics.

The Codified Order of Priority (53-13-10)

Georgia does not leave the priority question to custom. O.C.G.A. 53-13-10 sets the exact order, and a fiduciary should walk down it:

An online tool the provider offers. Under 53-13-10, a direction made through an online tool overrides a contrary direction in a will, trust, power of attorney, or other record. If your relative used Google Inactive Account Manager, Facebook Legacy Contact, or Apple Digital Legacy to say what happens to that account, that choice controls even over a will. This is why setting these tools now is the single most reliable step you can take.
A will, trust, or power of attorney. If no online tool applies, your own documents decide. Under 53-13-10, a direction in a will, trust, or power of attorney can allow or forbid disclosure of specific categories of digital assets, and that direction overrides a contrary provision in a terms-of-service agreement.
The provider's terms of service. With no online tool and no direction in your documents, the provider's terms control. This is the weakest position, and 53-13-11 confirms a fiduciary gains no greater access than the user had. Many platforms then offer little beyond memorialization or deletion.

Catalogue Versus Content: Georgia's Two-Layer Rule

Georgia's disclosure sections treat an email or messaging account as two separate things, and consent works differently for each:

The catalogue is the metadata: who a message was to or from, the date and time, and often the subject line.
The content is the actual text of the message.

Under Georgia's disclosure sections, a fiduciary can generally obtain the catalogue, but reaching the content of electronic communications requires the deceased person's affirmative consent, given through an online tool or written into a will, trust, or power of attorney. So an executor may learn that emails were exchanged with a bank without being able to read what they said. This is exactly why generic "my executor may handle my affairs" language is often not enough for email content, and why specific authorization matters.

The 60-Day Compliance Clock (53-13-31)

Georgia gives a fiduciary real leverage. Under O.C.G.A. 53-13-31, once you hand a custodian the documentation the statute requires, the custodian must comply within 60 days. If it fails to, you may apply to the court for an order directing compliance. The statute also grants the custodian immunity for acts done in good faith under Chapter 13, which removes the "we might get sued" excuse companies once used to refuse. This clock and the court remedy are what make a properly documented Georgia request enforceable rather than a polite ask.

What Counts as a Digital Asset

Under 53-13-2, a digital asset is an electronic record in which a person has a right or interest. In practice that covers email (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo), cloud storage and photos (iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox), social accounts (Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok), cryptocurrency and exchange balances (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Coinbase, Kraken), domains and websites, online financial logins (online banking, PayPal, Venmo), loyalty and rewards balances, paid subscriptions that keep charging the estate, and digital business assets like an Etsy store or an ad 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 Georgia's ordinary financial and probate rules. Chapter 13 governs the login and the records, not the underlying account balance.

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 an Executor Requests Access After Death

When you are the personal representative of a Georgia estate, Chapter 13 gives you a workable path:

Check for an online tool designation first. Under the 53-13-10 priority order, an online tool controls, so look at each provider's legacy, memorialization, or inactive account pages before anything else.
Review the will and any trust. Confirm what digital asset authority the documents grant, and whether they consent to the content of communications, not just the catalogue.
Gather your Georgia probate documentation. The disclosure sections generally require a certified copy of your Letters (the Georgia Probate Court order proving your appointment as executor or administrator), a certified death certificate, and a written request. For the content of communications, a provider can require the deceased person's consent or a court order.
Submit the request through the provider's official channel and keep records. Once the custodian has your documentation, the 53-13-31 clock starts and it must comply within 60 days. Providers differ in practice: Google's process is functional, Meta is slower, and some small platforms have no process at all. Document every request and the date you sent it, since that date sets the 60-day deadline.

If a custodian refuses or lets the 60 days pass on a request that complies with Chapter 13, you may apply to the Georgia Probate Court for an order directing compliance under 53-13-31, and a Georgia probate attorney can help you file it. For the content of communications specifically, a court order may be the route when consent was never given.

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 Chapter 13 process and the provider's official channels rather than self-help logins, which also preserves the custodian's 53-13-31 duty to comply. When in doubt, a Georgia estate attorney can tell you where the line sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my Georgia executor automatically get into my online accounts?

No. 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 executor has a legal basis to request access. Without either, the provider's terms of service control, 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 from the Georgia Probate Court, a death certificate, and a written request, and can require the deceased person's consent or a court order for the content of communications. It cannot lawfully sit on a valid request that complies with Chapter 13. Under O.C.G.A. 53-13-31 the custodian has 60 days to comply, and if it does not, you may apply to the Probate Court for an order directing compliance.

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: Georgia Code Title 53, Chapter 13, Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (sections 53-13-1 through 53-13-40). Publisher: Justia, 2024 Georgia Code. Publication Date: 2024 code page, accessed 2026-07-02. URL: https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-53/chapter-13/
Title: Georgia Code section 53-13-10, User's direction for disclosure of digital assets (order of priority). Publisher: FindLaw. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-07-02. URL: https://codes.findlaw.com/ga/title-53-wills-trusts-and-administration-of-estates/ga-code-sect-53-13-10/
Title: Georgia Code section 53-13-31, Time for custodian's compliance with disclosure requests; court order for compliance. Publisher: FindLaw. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-07-02. URL: https://codes.findlaw.com/ga/title-53-wills-trusts-and-administration-of-estates/ga-code-sect-53-13-31/
Title: Inactive Account Manager. Publisher: Google. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-07-02. URL: https://myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy
Title: Add a Legacy Contact for a memorialized account. Publisher: Meta (Facebook). Publication Date: Accessed 2026-07-02. URL: https://www.facebook.com/help/1568013990080948

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