New Jersey Digital Assets Planning

New Jersey answers the online account question with the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.1 through 3B:14-61.18. It lets an executor, an agent under a power of attorney, a court-appointed guardian, or a trustee reach a person's digital accounts, and it gives the company holding the account 60 days to answer a request that meets the statute.

This guide walks the sections in the order you will use them, then covers the New Jersey paperwork a company asks for, the cryptocurrency problem, and the wording that keeps your own family out of a fight. Read it next to the New Jersey power of attorney guide and the New Jersey executor duties guide. This page is general information. Confirm any step with your County Surrogate or a New Jersey attorney.

The Act, N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.1 Through 3B:14-61.18

New Jersey enacted A3433 as P.L.2017, c.237, approved September 13, 2017. Section 19 set it to take effect on the 90th day after enactment, which landed on December 12, 2017.

That same section reaches backward, and it is the part people miss. The act applies to a fiduciary acting under a will or power of attorney executed before, on, or after the effective date, to a personal representative acting for a decedent who died before, on, or after it, to a guardianship whether the guardian was appointed before or after, and to a trustee under a trust created at any point. A will signed in 2004 still gets the benefit of the machinery in these sections.

Two New Jersey features do not appear in every state's version.

The Surrogate counts as the court. N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.2 defines "court" as the Probate Part of the Chancery Division of the Superior Court, then adds that for purposes of this act the term includes the Surrogate's Court acting within the scope of its authority under statute or the Rules of Court. So the county office that issued your letters is not automatically shut out of the relief these sections describe. Use the New Jersey County Surrogate directory to find yours.

Residency, not company location, controls. N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.3 applies the act to a custodian if the user resides in New Jersey or resided here at the time of death. The same section pulls out an employer's digital asset used by an employee in the ordinary course of the employer's business, so a work login is not estate property to chase.

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What New Jersey Counts as a Digital Asset

N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.2 defines a digital asset as an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. The definition then carves something out: the term does not include an underlying asset or liability unless that asset or liability is itself an electronic record.

Read the carve-out twice, because it draws the line most articles blur. The login, the message archive, and the file are digital assets. The dollars sitting in an online savings account are not. Those dollars still move through ordinary New Jersey probate and the Division of Taxation waiver rules described in the New Jersey probate guide.

What the act reaches in a normal estate:

Email on Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and any smaller provider
Cloud storage and photo libraries on iCloud, Google Photos, or Dropbox
Social accounts on Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and TikTok
Cryptocurrency wallets and exchange accounts on Coinbase, Kraken, or a hardware device
Domain names, websites, and blogs the person registered or ran
Payment apps and online banking logins such as PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle records
Loyalty balances including airline miles and card points
Subscriptions that keep billing the estate every month
Seller accounts on Etsy, eBay, Shopify, or an ad platform

The Order New Jersey Reads Your Directions

N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.4 sets three tiers, and the top one beats your will.

An online tool the company offers. A user may use an online tool to tell the custodian to disclose or withhold some or all digital assets, including the content of electronic communications, to a designated recipient. If that tool lets the user change or delete the direction at all times, the tool overrides a contrary direction in a will, trust, power of attorney, or other record. Google Inactive Account Manager, Facebook Legacy Contact, and Apple Legacy Contact all fit this description.
Your will, trust, power of attorney, or other record. If the user never used an online tool, or the company never offered one, the user may allow or prohibit disclosure to a fiduciary in one of those documents.
The terms of service. With no direction at either tier above, the company's own agreement decides, and many providers offer a fiduciary nothing beyond memorializing or closing the account.

There is a limit worth knowing before you argue with a support agent. N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.5 says the act gives a fiduciary or designated recipient no new or expanded rights beyond what the user held, and that access can still be cut by the user, by federal law, or by a terms-of-service agreement where the user left no direction under section 4.

Content Versus Catalogue: Two Different Requests

New Jersey splits a deceased person's account into two halves, and the paperwork differs.

The catalogue and everything else, under N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.8. The statute defines a catalogue of electronic communications as information identifying each person the user communicated with, the time and date, and that person's electronic address. Unless the user prohibited disclosure or the court directs otherwise, a custodian shall disclose the catalogue and the non-content digital assets to the personal representative on a written request, a copy of the death certificate, and a certificate evidencing the appointment or a small-estate affidavit. The company may also ask for an account identifier, evidence linking the account to the user, an affidavit that disclosure is reasonably necessary to administer the estate, or a court finding.

The content of messages, under N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.7. This half opens only if the deceased user consented or a court directs disclosure. The document list is the same three items, plus one more: unless the user gave direction through an online tool, a copy of the will, trust, power of attorney, or other record showing consent to disclosure of content. The company may also require a court finding that disclosure would not violate 18 U.S.C. s.2701 et seq. or 47 U.S.C. s.222.

Generic "handle my affairs" wording rarely clears the content bar. Consent to disclose the substance of emails and messages needs its own sentence.

Here is the New Jersey paperwork behind those two lists:

The certificate evidencing appointment is the short certificate your County Surrogate issues with your letters testamentary or letters of administration. They run $5.00 each under the N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30 fee schedule, and many companies accept only one issued in the last 30 to 60 days, so order extras.
The death certificate comes from the New Jersey Department of Health or the local registrar in the municipality where the death occurred. See New Jersey death certificates for who may order one.
The small-estate affidavit is the alternative when no estate was ever opened. N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 lets a surviving spouse, civil union partner, or domestic partner take the assets by affidavit before the Surrogate when the total real and personal assets will not exceed $50,000. N.J.S.A. 3B:10-4 lets one heir do the same at $20,000 with the written consent of the remaining heirs when there is no surviving spouse or partner.

How the Company Has to Deliver It

N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.6 is the section almost nobody quotes, and it settles arguments. When a custodian discloses under the act, it shall do one of three things: grant full access to the account, grant partial access sufficient to perform the tasks the fiduciary is charged with, or provide a copy in a record of any digital asset the user could have accessed on the date of the request if the user were alive with full capacity.

The rest of the section sets the boundaries. A custodian may charge a reasonable administrative charge. It need not disclose an asset the user already deleted. If you ask for part of an account and segregating that part would be an undue burden, either side may ask the court for an order to disclose a subset limited by date, everything, nothing, or everything to the court for in camera review.

The 60-Day Clock

N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.16 gives the deadline. Not later than 60 days after receiving the information required under sections 7 through 15, a custodian shall comply with a request to disclose digital assets or terminate an account. If it does not, the fiduciary or designated recipient may apply to the court for an order directing compliance, and that order must contain a finding that compliance does not violate 18 U.S.C. s.2702.

The same section gives the company room to move. It may notify the user that a request was made. It may deny a request if it is aware of lawful access to the account after receiving that request. It may still insist on a court order in the cases the statute lists. And the custodian, along with its officers, employees, and agents, is immune from liability for anything done in good faith under the act.

So date-stamp every submission, save the confirmation, and calendar day 60 the way you calendar the deadlines in the New Jersey probate timeline.

Agents, Guardians, and Trustees

A power of attorney needs express content authority. Under N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.9, a custodian discloses the content of a living principal's messages only to the extent that a power of attorney expressly grants the agent authority over the content of electronic communications. General financial authority is not enough. N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.10 is easier: an agent with specific authority over digital assets, or general authority to act, gets the catalogue and the non-content assets. Both sections require the agent to certify under penalty of perjury that the document remains in force. Raise this with whoever prepares your document, and see New Jersey power of attorney for the durability wording the state also requires.

A guardian needs a court order first. N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.14 lets the court grant a guardian access to an incapacitated person's digital assets after an opportunity for a hearing under N.J.S.A. 3B:12-1 et seq. The custodian then discloses the catalogue and non-content assets on a written request plus a copy of that order. A guardian with general authority over the person's assets may also ask a custodian to suspend or terminate an account for good cause, with the order attached. New Jersey guardianship planning covers the underlying filing.

Trustees split by who opened the account. N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.11 handles a trustee who is the original user, and N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.12 and 3B:14-61.13 handle a successor trustee who is not, again separating message content from the catalogue.

Cryptocurrency and the Inheritance Tax

Crypto is the one asset that disappears for good. If the person held coins on an exchange, the exchange holds the private keys and you work its estate process much like a bank, sending your short certificate and the death certificate. If the person used a self-custody wallet, access depends entirely on the seed phrase, usually 12 or 24 words. No seed phrase means no recovery, and no court order changes that.

When you settle an estate that might hold crypto, check for a small hardware wallet device, a written or metal-stamped word list, files named wallet, seed, backup, or recovery, and exchange confirmation emails in the accounts you already reach.

Then value it. New Jersey repealed its estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2018, and the Transfer Inheritance Tax survived. That tax turns on who receives the property. Class A takers, meaning the spouse, civil union partner, domestic partner, parents, grandparents, children, stepchildren, and grandchildren, pay nothing. Class C, covering siblings and a child's spouse, pays 11% to 16% above a $25,000 exemption. Class D, covering nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends, pays 15% on the first $700,000 and 16% above that with no exemption at all. The return and the tax fall due within eight months of the date of death under N.J.S.A. 54:35-1, and unpaid tax then carries 10% annual interest under N.J.S.A. 54:35-3. Use the date-of-death value, since it sets both the New Jersey tax figure and the beneficiary's federal cost basis.

One more New Jersey step. N.J.S.A. 54:35-19 bars a state or federally chartered bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, credit union, safe deposit company, or trust company from delivering a resident decedent's securities, deposits, or other assets without written consent from the Director of the Division of Taxation. Ask the Division whether the account you are chasing needs a waiver before you promise anyone a distribution date. The New Jersey creditor claims guide covers what has to be paid before that money moves.

Set This Up Before Anyone Needs It

Turn on the provider tools today

Tier one beats every document you own, and each takes a few minutes:

Google: Data and privacy, 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

Put the consent in writing

Ask the attorney drafting 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. For a power of attorney, that content authority has to be express.

Keep an inventory, never a password list

A New Jersey will becomes a public filing once the Surrogate admits it, so keep credentials out of it. Save them in a password manager, leave a sealed letter of instruction with your estate papers, and point to that letter from the will instead of copying the details into it. Keeping accounts out of probate entirely is a separate question, covered in how to avoid probate in New Jersey.

Store seed phrases where a person can actually find them

A safe or a safe deposit box beats a note on a laptop. Tell your fiduciary the location without handing over the words while you are alive.

You Are an Authorized User, Not the Account Owner

N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.15 gives New Jersey fiduciaries real cover and real limits.

The cover: a fiduciary acting within the scope of the fiduciary's duties is an authorized user of the decedent's, incapacitated person's, principal's, or settlor's property for purposes of computer-fraud and unauthorized-computer-access laws, including P.L.1984, c.184 (C.2C:20-23 et seq.) and N.J.S. 2C:20-2. A fiduciary with authority over tangible personal property may access that property and any digital asset stored in it, which is how you lawfully open the laptop in the drawer.

The limits: the same section applies the duties of care, loyalty, and confidentiality to digital assets, subjects your authority to the terms of service except where section 4 says otherwise, keeps you inside the scope of your duties, and states plainly that the authority may not be used to impersonate the user. Federal law still sits on top, including 18 U.S.C. s.2701 et seq. Work the statute and the company's official channel rather than logging in with a password you found.

Common Questions

Does a New Jersey executor automatically get into a deceased person's email?

No. Access to the content of messages under N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.7 opens only when the user consented, through an online tool or in a will, trust, power of attorney, or other record, or when a court directs disclosure. Without that consent you can still request the catalogue and the non-content assets under N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.8.

What paperwork does a company ask a New Jersey executor for?

A written request, a copy of the death certificate, and a certificate evidencing your appointment, which in New Jersey is the short certificate from your County Surrogate, or a small-estate affidavit under N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 or 3B:10-4. For message content, add the document showing the user's consent unless an online tool was used.

How long does a company have to answer?

Sixty days from receiving the required information, under N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.16. If it misses that deadline, you may apply to the court for an order directing compliance.

Does a New Jersey power of attorney cover digital accounts?

Only as far as it says so. N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.9 requires the document to expressly grant the agent authority over the content of electronic communications before a company will release message content, while N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.10 lets an agent with specific digital-asset authority or general authority reach the catalogue.

What happens to cryptocurrency if nobody has the seed phrase?

For a self-custody wallet, the coins are gone. No company and no New Jersey court can regenerate private keys. Coins held on an exchange are recoverable through that exchange's estate process.

Should passwords go in a New Jersey will?

No. The will becomes a public filing when the County Surrogate admits it. Keep passwords in a password manager or a sealed letter of instruction and reference that document from the will.

Sources:

Title: P.L.2017, c.237 (A3433 3R), Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, supplementing Title 3B and codified at N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.1 through 3B:14-61.18, including the section 19 effective date and applicability clause. Publisher: New Jersey Legislature. Publication Date: Approved September 13, 2017. URL: https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2016/AL17/237_.HTM
Title: N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.1 through 3B:14-61.6, short title, definitions of digital asset, catalogue of electronic communications, custodian, online tool and court, user's residence in State, user direction for disclosure, terms-of-service agreement, and procedure for disclosing digital assets. Publisher: New Jersey Legislature, Office of Legislative Services. Publication Date: New Jersey General and Permanent Statutes, updated through P.L.2025, c.346, accessed July 29, 2026. URL: https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=Publish:10.1048/Enu
Title: N.J.S.A. 3B:14-61.7 through 3B:14-61.16, disclosure of content of electronic communications and other digital assets of a deceased user, of a principal, and held in trust, disclosure to a guardian of an incapacitated person, fiduciary and designated recipient duty and authority, and custodian compliance and immunity with the 60-day deadline. Publisher: New Jersey Legislature, Office of Legislative Services. Publication Date: New Jersey General and Permanent Statutes, updated through P.L.2025, c.346, accessed July 29, 2026. URL: https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=Publish:10.1048/Enu
Title: N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3 and 3B:10-4, when a spouse, partner in a civil union, or domestic partner and when heirs are entitled to assets without administration by affidavit, and N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30, fees of surrogate and deputy clerk of the Superior Court. Publisher: New Jersey Legislature, Office of Legislative Services. Publication Date: New Jersey General and Permanent Statutes, updated through P.L.2025, c.346, accessed July 29, 2026. URL: https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=Publish:10.1048/Enu
Title: N.J.S.A. 54:34-2, 54:35-1, 54:35-3, and 54:35-19, Transfer Inheritance Tax rates by beneficiary class, date when tax due, interest on delayed payment, and consent required before transfer of a resident decedent's deposits and securities. Publisher: New Jersey Legislature, Office of Legislative Services. Publication Date: New Jersey General and Permanent Statutes, updated through P.L.2025, c.346, accessed July 29, 2026. URL: https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=Publish:10.1048/Enu
Title: Short Certificates, glossary entry describing the surrogate-issued proof of a fiduciary's authority. Publisher: New Jersey Judiciary. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.njcourts.gov/glossary/short-certificates
Title: County Surrogates directory for all 21 counties. Publisher: New Jersey Judiciary. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://www.njcourts.gov/public/directories/court-services/county-surrogates
Title: Inheritance and Estate Tax, beneficiary classes, filing requirements, and waivers. Publisher: New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Taxation. Publication Date: Last updated September 9, 2025. URL: https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/inheritance-estate/inheritance.shtml
Title: Order a Vital Record, certified copies of a New Jersey death certificate. Publisher: New Jersey Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry. Publication Date: Last updated June 15, 2026. URL: https://www.nj.gov/health/vital/order-vital/

It is not legal advice.