Mississippi Digital Assets Planning

Most Mississippi 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 leads with the Mississippi statute that actually governs access, then covers what you can do now so your own executor is not locked out, and where cryptocurrency needs special handling. It pairs with the Mississippi estate planning basics guide, which covers the core documents every adult needs.

Mississippi's Digital Assets Law: Miss. Code Section 91-23-1

Mississippi has its own codified statute on this question. The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act is enacted at Miss. Code Ann. Sections 91-23-1 through 91-23-35 (Title 91, Chapter 23), effective July 1, 2017. It sits inside Title 91, the trusts-and-estates title that Mississippi's chancery courts administer, so the same court that opens the estate is the court that backs a fiduciary's access rights. When you read below about "the statute" or "the Act," it is this Mississippi chapter, not a generic model law. A few features of the chapter that a Mississippi family should know by name:

The three tiers are codified here, in priority order. Section 91-23-5 makes an online-tool designation the top authority: if the provider lets a user modify or delete the choice at any time, that direction "overrides a contrary direction by the user in a will, trust, power of attorney, or other record." Absent an online tool, your own documents control; absent both, Section 91-23-7 leaves the provider's terms of service in charge.
Content versus catalogue is a Mississippi distinction, not a suggestion. Section 91-23-3 borrows the federal definition of an electronic communication (18 U.S.C. Section 2510(12)). Sections 91-23-13 and 91-23-15 then split a deceased user's accounts: a fiduciary may get the catalogue (who, when, subject line) on a standard showing, but the content of communications is disclosed only where the user consented, through an online tool or in the will, trust, or power of attorney.
The custodian has a 60-day clock. Under Section 91-23-11, once you give a provider the documentation the Act requires, it "shall comply" within sixty days. If it does not, that same section lets you apply to the chancery court for an order directing compliance, which is the enforcement lever most Mississippi families never have to pull but should know exists.
A fiduciary steps into the user's shoes. Section 91-23-29 gives a fiduciary managing digital assets the same legal duties and authority they hold over tangible property, subject to the user's directions and the provider's terms, which is why a Mississippi executor's Letters carry weight with a provider in the first place.

The mechanics below (the tier structure, the catalogue-versus-content line, the request steps) trace back to the uniform act that most states share, so they look similar from state to state. What is specific to Mississippi is that these rules live in Chapter 23 with the section numbers above, are enforced through the chancery court that administers the estate, and carry the codified 60-day compliance deadline you can cite to a reluctant provider.

What Counts as a Digital Asset

Section 91-23-3 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 Mississippi's ordinary financial and probate rules. Chapter 23 governs the login and the records, not the underlying account balance.

The Three-Tier Priority, Applied

Section 91-23-5 sets the order of authority, so a Mississippi family should work down it in this sequence.

Tier 1, an online tool the provider offers. If the 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 Section 91-23-5. Common tools are Google Inactive Account Manager, Facebook Legacy Contact, and Apple Digital Legacy. Because the statute lets an online-tool direction override even a will, this is the single most reliable step: if you used Inactive Account Manager to send your Gmail data to your daughter, your executor cannot reroute it to your son.

Tier 2, your will, trust, or power of attorney. With no online tool, the Act looks to your own documents. A clause in your will, trust, or power of attorney that addresses digital assets gives your fiduciary the legal basis to ask a provider for access.

Tier 3, the provider's terms of service. With neither an online tool nor a document direction, Section 91-23-7 leaves the provider's terms in charge. This is the weakest position; many platforms offer an executor little beyond memorialization or deletion.

The catalogue-versus-content line, and why it bites

Sections 91-23-13 and 91-23-15 split a deceased user's electronic communications into two layers, and the difference decides what your family can actually read:

The catalogue is the metadata: who a message was to or from, the date and time, and often the subject line. A fiduciary can obtain this on the standard showing.
The content is the actual text. The statute discloses content only where the user consented, through an online tool or in the will, trust, or power of attorney.

Without that consent, a Mississippi executor may learn that emails were exchanged with a bank but not read what they said. This is exactly why generic "my executor may handle my affairs" language often falls short for email content, and why the specific consent Section 91-23-13 requires 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. Remember that a Mississippi power of attorney is not durable by default, so the durability language must be present for an agent to act on your accounts during incapacity.

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 chancery clerk. 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 Mississippi estate, called an executor under a will or an administrator without one, RUFADAA gives you a workable path:

Check for an online tool designation first. 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 content of communications.
Gather your documentation. Providers generally require a certified copy of your Letters (the chancery court order proving your appointment), a certified death certificate, and a written request. Some ask for an affidavit or, for content, a court order.
Submit the request through the provider's official channel 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 RUFADAA, a Mississippi probate attorney can help you enforce your rights, and for the content of communications you may need an order from the chancery court.

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 Mississippi estate attorney can tell you where the line sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my Mississippi 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, a death certificate, and a written request, and can insist on a court order for the content of communications. It cannot lawfully refuse a valid request that complies with Mississippi's RUFADAA.

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 chancery clerk. Keep passwords in a password manager or a sealed letter of instruction and reference that separate document in your will.

Sources:

Title: Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (2015). Publisher: Uniform Law Commission. Publication Date: 2015, accessed 2026-07-01. URL: https://www.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-home?CommunityKey=f7237fc4-74c2-4728-81c6-b39a91ecdf22
Title: Mississippi Code of 1972, Title 91, administration of estates through the chancery court. Publisher: Mississippi Code of 1972 (Justia, current official code). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-07-01. URL: https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-91/
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 Mississippi. Digital asset planning involves legal and technical choices specific to your situation, so consult a Mississippi estate planning attorney for advice on your accounts. It is not legal advice.