New Mexico Digital Assets Planning

Most New Mexico 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 value, yet a family often has no idea an account exists, let alone how to reach it. New Mexico answers the access question with its own codified statute: the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, NMSA 1978, Sections 46-13-1 through 46-13-18 (Chapter 46, Article 13, Fiduciaries and Trusts). This guide leads with what that act actually says, then covers the steps to take now and where cryptocurrency needs special care. It is general information, not legal advice, and it pairs with the New Mexico estate planning basics guide.

The New Mexico Digital Assets Act, Section by Section

New Mexico enacted the act in 2017. Its short title, Section 46-13-1, names it the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, and the operative rules that a family needs sit in a handful of numbered sections. The act does two jobs at once: it gives your fiduciary a legal path to the accounts needed to settle the estate, and it preserves the privacy you reasonably expected while alive.

The three-tier priority is New Mexico's codified rule, in Section 46-13-4. This section, "user direction for disclosure of digital assets," sets the order that controls access, and it is the heart of the act. First, a valid choice made through the provider's online tool controls. Second, if no online tool applies, your will, trust, or power of attorney controls. Third, if neither applies, the provider's terms of service decide. Section 46-13-4 also states that your direction through an online tool or your documents overrides a contrary provision in a terms-of-service agreement, which is why leaving a direction is what unlocks real access. The three-tier system below walks each level in order.

Catalogue and content are defined and treated differently, in Sections 46-13-2 and 46-13-7 through 46-13-14. The definitions in Section 46-13-2 split an electronic communication into its "catalogue" (the record of who a message was to or from, and the date and time) and its "content" (the actual text). Under the disclosure sections, a fiduciary can generally reach the catalogue, but reaching the content requires the user's explicit consent through an online tool or in the will, trust, or power of attorney. The catalogue-versus-content section below explains why generic authority is often not enough.

A fiduciary's authority is spelled out in Section 46-13-15. Titled "fiduciary duty and authority," this section applies the ordinary duties of care, loyalty, and confidentiality to digital assets and confirms that a personal representative's authority over the deceased person's property extends to digital assets. That is the legal basis for a New Mexico executor to ask a provider for access.

The 60-day compliance clock lives in Section 46-13-16. Under "custodian compliance and immunity," a provider must comply with a proper request within a set time: "not later than sixty days after receipt of the information required," the custodian shall comply with a fiduciary's request to disclose digital assets or terminate an account. If a provider misses that window, the fiduciary may petition the court for an order directing it to comply. This is the enforcement backbone that a plain request to a customer-service line lacks.

How it ties to New Mexico probate. The documentation a provider asks for flows from your appointment. In New Mexico's two-court probate system, an executor named in an informal probate opened at the county Probate Court, or a personal representative appointed in a formal proceeding in the District Court, receives Letters that prove authority. Those Letters, with a certified death certificate, are what you present to a provider under the act. Because New Mexico is a community property state, digital property built up during a marriage can be community property, so one spouse cannot simply hand off the whole of a jointly held digital asset. Plan around your own half and the community half together, and confirm the split with a New Mexico attorney when the accounts hold real value.

The mechanics below (online tools, the will clause, the crypto handling) look similar from state to state because they trace back to the same uniform act. What is New Mexico's own law is Sections 46-13-1 through 46-13-18: the Section 46-13-4 priority order, the Section 46-13-2 catalogue-content line, the Section 46-13-15 grant of authority, and the Section 46-13-16 sixty-day clock with its court remedy.

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What Counts as a Digital Asset

Section 46-13-2 defines a digital asset broadly as an electronic record in which a person 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 New Mexico's ordinary financial and probate rules. RUFADAA governs the login and the records, not the underlying account balance.

The Three-Tier Priority System

RUFADAA answers the access question with a clear order of priority. A fiduciary and a family should walk down it in order.

Tier 1: An Online Tool the Provider Offers

If the provider gives users a built-in way to say what happens to an account, and the person used it, that choice controls above everything else. These online tools include:

Google Inactive Account Manager, which lets you name people to receive specific data (or delete the account) after a set period of inactivity
Facebook Legacy Contact, which names someone to manage a memorialized profile
Apple Digital Legacy, which names a legacy contact who can request access to iCloud content after death

A valid online tool designation beats your will. If you used Google Inactive Account Manager to send your Gmail data to your daughter, your executor cannot override that and route it to your son. That is why setting these tools now is the single most reliable step you can take.

Tier 2: Your Will, Trust, or Power of Attorney

If no online tool applies, RUFADAA looks to your own legal documents. Directions in a will, a trust, or a power of attorney that address digital assets control at this tier. A will clause granting your executor authority over your digital accounts, or a trust that names your digital property, gives your fiduciary a solid legal basis to ask providers for access.

Tier 3: The Provider's Terms of Service

If there is no online tool and no direction in your documents, the provider's terms of service decide. This is the weakest position. Many platforms restrict account sharing and give an executor little or nothing beyond memorialization or deletion. Relying on the terms of service means accepting whatever each company chooses to allow.

Catalogue Versus Content of Communications

RUFADAA draws one distinction that surprises many families. It splits electronic communications, such as email and private messages, into two layers:

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.

By default a fiduciary can obtain the catalogue of electronic communications, but reaching the content requires the deceased person's explicit consent, given through an online tool or written into the will, trust, or power of attorney. Without that consent, an 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 is not enough for email content, and why specific authorization 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.

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 New Mexico estate, 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 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 probate attorney can help you enforce your rights, and for the content of communications you may need a court order.

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 New Mexico estate attorney can tell you where the line sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my New Mexico 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 New Mexico'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 probate court. Keep passwords in a password manager or a sealed letter of instruction and reference that separate document in your will.

Sources:

Title: NMSA 1978, Sections 46-13-1 through 46-13-18 (Chapter 46, Article 13), Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (New Mexico's RUFADAA). Publisher: New Mexico Statutes (New Mexico Compilation Commission). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-07-01. URL: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/nav.do
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: 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 New Mexico. Digital asset planning involves legal and technical choices specific to your situation, so consult a New Mexico estate planning attorney for advice on your accounts. It is not legal advice.