Maine Digital Assets Planning

In Maine, who may reach your online accounts after death or incapacity is written into statute. Maine adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act as Title 18-C, Article 10 (18-C M.R.S. 10-101 through 10-118). It gives your personal representative, agent, or trustee a path to your digital property, and it lets you set the terms in advance through an online tool or your estate documents. This guide leads with what Article 10 says, then walks the planning steps. It is general information, not legal advice.

Maine's Digital Assets Act (18-C Article 10)

Article 10 is the statute your Maine fiduciary will point to, and it carries specifics that a generic digital-assets summary leaves out. Maine enacted it as part of the Probate Code that took effect September 1, 2019, so the section numbers run 10-101 through 10-118. The short title, at 18-C M.R.S. 10-101, is the Maine Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act.

The definitions that decide access. 18-C M.R.S. 10-102 defines the terms the rest of the article turns on. A "digital asset" is an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. A "custodian" is a person that carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores a digital asset of a user, meaning the platform or service provider. The statute then splits every account into two different things: the "content of an electronic communication" (the substance of a private message that is not publicly available) and the "catalogue of electronic communications" (who a user communicated with, and when, but not the words). That content-versus-catalogue line is the single idea the whole article rests on, because Maine protects the two differently.

Maine's three-tier priority. 18-C M.R.S. 10-104 puts user direction at the top of the order. If the account holder used a platform's online tool to say what happens to the account, and the tool lets the user change that choice, the direction controls and overrides contrary language in a will, trust, or power of attorney. If no online tool was used, a direction in the will, trust, power of attorney, or other record controls next. Only if the user left no direction do the provider's terms of service govern. Writing this order into Article 10 is what lets a Maine resident override a restrictive terms-of-service default by planning ahead.

Priority	Source under Maine law	Example
1 (controls first)	Online tool, 18-C M.R.S. 10-104	Google Inactive Account Manager, Facebook Legacy Contact
2	Will, trust, or power of attorney	"My personal representative may access my digital accounts"
3 (default)	Provider terms of service	The account's standard policy

One freshness check. Maine's Probate Code is Title 18-C, which replaced the old Title 18-A on September 1, 2019. Any form or article still citing 18-A digital-asset provisions is out of date. The current home for these rules is Article 10 of Title 18-C.

What Counts as a Digital Asset in Maine

Under 18-C M.R.S. 10-102, a digital asset is an electronic record in which you have a right or interest. That definition is broad, and it reaches almost anything stored or managed online.

Assets with Money Behind Them

Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin, Ethereum, tokens, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
Digital wallets (hot wallets and cold storage) and exchange accounts such as Coinbase or Kraken
Online banking, bill pay, and payment apps such as PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle
Brokerage and investment apps
Online businesses: Etsy or Shopify stores, Amazon seller accounts, domain names, and advertising accounts

Personal Digital Property

Email accounts (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook) and messaging history
Social media: Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube
Cloud storage and photo libraries (iCloud, Dropbox, Box)
Music, e-book, and streaming libraries
Loyalty points, gaming accounts, and password manager vaults

The account types, planning steps, and platform tools below trace to the same uniform framework other states share, so they look similar from state to state. What is Maine's own is Article 10: the content-versus-catalogue split it codifies, the section numbers a Maine fiduciary sends, and the way it ties to your Probate Code documents.

The Priority Order: Online Tool, Then Your Documents

The heart of Article 10 is 18-C M.R.S. 10-104. Read it as a ladder your fiduciary climbs from the top.

Rung one, the online tool. Some platforms let a user record a separate instruction that lives with the account. If the account holder used one and the tool allows later changes, that choice controls over a will or power of attorney. This is the strongest way to say what you want, because it speaks directly to the custodian.

Rung two, your estate documents. With no online tool in place, a direction in your will, trust, power of attorney, or other record allows or prohibits disclosure to your fiduciary. Name the authority plainly and say whether it reaches the content of your private messages, because content is the harder case (more on that below).

Rung three, the terms of service. If you left no direction at all, the provider's own terms govern, and many providers restrict access by default. A user direction made under rung one or rung two supersedes a contrary terms-of-service clause, unless that clause required a separate, affirmative act you never took.

How a Maine Fiduciary Gets Access

Article 10 gives four fiduciary roles a path to digital assets, and each has its own section. The scope of access turns on the account holder's directions and on whether the request reaches content or only the catalogue.

Personal Representative Access

If you are the personal representative of a Maine estate, two sections govern what you send.

For the non-content assets, the catalogue and everything that is not a private message body, 18-C M.R.S. 10-108 controls. You send the custodian a written request, a copy of the death certificate, and a copy of your letters of appointment or a court order. The custodian may also ask for an account identifier, evidence that ties the account to the deceased user, an affidavit that the assets are needed to settle the estate, or a court finding.

For the content of private messages, the actual words of emails and texts, 18-C M.R.S. 10-107 sets a higher bar. On top of the death certificate and your letters, you must show the user consented to disclosure, through an online tool or language in the will, trust, power of attorney, or other record. Plan for this gap: a will clause that only names your representative is often not enough to open the body of an email account.

Power of Attorney Agent Access

If you hold a Maine power of attorney for a living principal, Article 10 splits your access the same way. 18-C M.R.S. 10-109 governs the content of the principal's electronic communications and applies only when that power of attorney expressly grants the authority. The parallel section for the other, non-content assets sits right beside it. So a durable power of attorney that means to cover digital life should say so, and should name the content of communications on purpose.

Trustee Access

If you are a successor trustee, 18-C M.R.S. 10-111 through 10-113 govern your access, and the trust document sets the scope. A trust that holds digital assets should address them directly, including whether the trustee may reach the content of communications. Present the trust document or a certification of trust, along with your identification, to the custodian.

Conservator Access

18-C M.R.S. 10-114 lets a court authorize a conservator of a protected person to access that person's digital assets, after notice and on the documentation the section describes. This is the incapacity path when no usable power of attorney exists.

What the Custodian May Do, and the 60-Day Clock

Two sections tell you what to expect once a proper request lands.

Under 18-C M.R.S. 10-106, the custodian chooses how to comply. It may grant your fiduciary full access to the account, grant partial access sufficient to do the job, or hand over a copy of the digital assets the user could have reached. The custodian may charge a reasonable administrative fee, need not disclose an asset the user had already deleted, and does not have to sort assets by hand if that would be an undue burden. When the burden is real, either side may ask the court to decide, and the court can order disclosure of a date-limited set, everything, nothing, or a private review.

Under 18-C M.R.S. 10-116, the custodian must comply with a proper request no later than 60 days after it receives the required information. A custodian that acts in good faith under the act is immune from liability, and a custodian that ignores a complete request past the 60-day window can be ordered by the court to comply.

Content Versus Catalogue: Why It Decides Everything

Come back to the split from 18-C M.R.S. 10-102, because it is where planning pays off.

The catalogue, the list of who a user emailed and when, moves more easily. A personal representative can reach it under 18-C M.R.S. 10-108 with the death certificate and letters. But the catalogue will not open an account-recovery link or let anyone read the message itself.

The content, the words inside the messages, is the guarded item. 18-C M.R.S. 10-107 releases it only with the user's consent (through an online tool or the estate documents) or a court order. Email sits at the center of this problem, because the inbox often holds the recovery links to everything else. Direct disclosure of content in your will, trust, or power of attorney so your fiduciary is not stuck one rung short.

Planning for Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency may be the one asset class that vanishes for good without planning, because there is no bank or help desk to reset access.

Write down what you hold. List every exchange account, wallet, and holding, with wallet addresses and type (hot wallet, cold storage, hardware device) and a rough value.
Secure your access material offline. Store seed phrases and private keys in a fireproof safe or a safe deposit box, not in an unsecured file. Some owners split a seed phrase between two secure spots.
Name it in your plan. Authorize your fiduciary in your will or trust to manage and sell cryptocurrency, and leave a separate letter of instruction that explains how to reach the wallets.
Expect an exchange process. Coinbase and Kraken run a deceased-account procedure that asks for the death certificate, your Maine letters of appointment, and identification. Transfers can take weeks.

A fiduciary who never learns the seed phrases cannot recover the coins, no matter what the estate documents say. This is where an inventory earns its place.

Platform Tools You Can Set Today

Several providers let you record a direction that Article 10 treats as the top rung:

Google Inactive Account Manager: set an inactivity timeout, name up to 10 trusted contacts to receive data, or have the account deleted.
Facebook Legacy Contact: name someone to manage a memorialized profile, or choose deletion instead.
Apple Digital Legacy: add legacy contacts to your Apple ID so they receive access to your iCloud data after death.
Instagram: memorialization on request with proof of death, or removal at a family member's request.

Email and Cloud Files

Email content is the hard case under 18-C M.R.S. 10-107, so consent recorded in advance is what opens it. Cloud files, tax documents, deeds, and family photos usually read as non-content assets, which makes fiduciary access more direct under 18-C M.R.S. 10-108. Practical order of operations: find every account, check for a platform death procedure, submit the death certificate and letters, download what matters, and keep the account open until you have retrieved everything.

Monetized Accounts

A YouTube channel or a business social account may carry ongoing revenue the estate should collect. Coordinate with the platform and decide whether to keep, transfer, or close the account.

Put Digital Assets in Your Maine Estate Plan

Article 10 rewards a plan that speaks in its language. When you sit down to draft or update documents, work these into the set:

Your will. Add a digital-assets clause to your Maine will that grants broad authority to access, manage, and close digital accounts, and that directs disclosure of the content of electronic communications so 18-C M.R.S. 10-107 is satisfied. Do not paste passwords into the will itself, because a will filed with the county Probate Court becomes public.

Your power of attorney. Update your durable Maine power of attorney to grant authority over digital assets during incapacity, and to name the content of your communications on purpose, which 18-C M.R.S. 10-109 requires for a POA agent.

Your trust. If you use a revocable trust, give the trustee parallel authority, address cryptocurrency by name, and cover both incapacity and death. Digital-asset planning is one part of the broader Maine estate plan that keeps property moving to the people you chose.

Build a Digital Asset Inventory

An inventory is the step that makes every rule above usable. Here is a workable order.

List the accounts. Go through your devices, your inbox, and your password manager. For each account, record the platform, the username or email, the type, and a rough value if it has one.
Record how to get in. Note where the login lives, the two-factor method, the recovery email or phone, and any security answers. Keep the credentials themselves in the secure spot, not on the list.
Store it somewhere safe. A password manager with a master password shared with your fiduciary, or a sealed envelope in a safe deposit box, works. Reference the location in your will or trust, not the contents.
Keep it current. Review it at least once a year. Add new accounts, drop closed ones, and update anything that changed.
Tell your fiduciary. Make sure your personal representative, agent, or trustee knows the inventory exists, where it lives, and how to open it.

Common Questions

Does my executor automatically get into my digital accounts?

No. Under Article 10, access depends on the direction you left. If you used an online tool (18-C M.R.S. 10-104) or wrote digital-asset authority into your will, trust, or power of attorney, your personal representative has a legal basis to ask. Without either, the provider's terms of service control, and many restrict access.

Can a Maine custodian refuse my request?

A custodian may require proper documentation: a written request, the death certificate, and your letters of appointment or a court order under 18-C M.R.S. 10-108, plus the user's consent or a court order for message content under 18-C M.R.S. 10-107. Once a request is complete, 18-C M.R.S. 10-116 gives the custodian 60 days to respond, and a court can order compliance if it does not.

What is the difference between content and catalogue?

The catalogue is the record of who you communicated with and when, without the words. A fiduciary reaches it more easily under 18-C M.R.S. 10-108. The content is the substance of the messages, and 18-C M.R.S. 10-107 releases it only with your consent or a court order. Recovery links and readable email live in the content tier.

What happens to my cryptocurrency if no one has my seed phrases?

It is effectively lost. No central authority can recover coins without the private keys or seed phrases, which is why an offline record and a named, tech-comfortable fiduciary matter for crypto more than for any other asset.

Should I put my passwords in my will?

No. A Maine will filed with the county Probate Court becomes public record. Keep passwords in a password manager or a sealed document in a safe, and point to that location from your will or trust instead.

Does Article 10 cover a power of attorney agent while I am alive?

Yes. 18-C M.R.S. 10-109 lets an agent reach the content of your electronic communications when that power of attorney expressly grants it, and the neighboring section covers the other, non-content assets. Draft the durable power of attorney to name digital authority on purpose.

This guide is general information about Maine digital assets and estate planning. It is not legal advice. Digital-asset planning turns on legal and technical choices specific to your situation. Confirm anything that affects you with a licensed Maine attorney.

Sources:

Title: 18-C M.R.S. 10-102, Definitions. Publisher: Maine Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-Csec10-102.html
Title: 18-C M.R.S. 10-104, User direction for disclosure of digital assets. Publisher: Maine Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-Csec10-104.html
Title: 18-C M.R.S. 10-106, Procedure for disclosing digital assets. Publisher: Maine Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-Csec10-106.html
Title: 18-C M.R.S. 10-107, Disclosure of content of electronic communications of deceased user. Publisher: Maine Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-Csec10-107.html
Title: 18-C M.R.S. 10-108, Disclosure of other digital assets of deceased user. Publisher: Maine Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-Csec10-108.html
Title: 18-C M.R.S. 10-116, Custodian compliance and immunity. Publisher: Maine Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-Csec10-116.html

It is not legal advice.