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South Dakota Digital Assets After Death
Support GuideSouth Dakota23 min read

South Dakota Digital Assets After Death

South Dakota's digital assets act, SDCL chapter 55-19, puts an online tool above a will and gives a custodian 60 days to answer.

By Settled Editorial

A South Dakota estate now often holds things no one can hand over at a bank counter: an email account, years of photos in the cloud, a PayPal balance, an online store, maybe a hardware wallet in a desk drawer. South Dakota decides who may reach those accounts in one chapter of its trust and fiduciary title, and the answer turns more on what the account holder set up than on who the court appoints.

The law is SDCL chapter 55-19, which the code itself names the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. It runs 27 sections, SDCL 55-19-1 through SDCL 55-19-27, and the Legislature enacted all of them in SL 2017, ch 209. The only later amendment is SL 2020, ch 214, § 52, which touched the definitions in 55-19-1 when South Dakota adopted its new power of attorney act. Every other section still shows the single 2017 source line.

Three rules carry most of the weight. A direction the account holder gave through a provider's own online tool beats a will. The content of messages sits behind a higher wall than everything else. And a custodian that receives a complete request has sixty days to act.

Who The South Dakota Act Reaches

Two sections answer the scope question.

  • Old documents count. SDCL 55-19-2 applies the chapter to a fiduciary acting under a will or power of attorney signed before, on or after July 1, 2017, to a personal representative acting for someone who died before, on or after that date, to any conservatorship started before, on or after it, and to a trustee under a trust created before, on or after it.
  • Residence decides. SDCL 55-19-3 reaches a custodian if the user resides in South Dakota or resided here at the time of death.
  • Work accounts stay out. The same section excludes any digital asset of an employer that an employee used in the ordinary course of the employer's business. A company inbox belongs to the company.

Section 55-19-1(14) names four fiduciaries: a personal representative, a conservator, an agent and a trustee. The personal representative is the one most families meet, and the guide to South Dakota executor duties covers the rest of that job.

What Counts As A Digital Asset In South Dakota

SDCL 55-19-1(10) defines a digital asset as any electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. The same subdivision adds a limit that matters when you build an inventory: the term does not include an underlying asset or liability unless the asset or liability is itself an electronic record.

So the login and the records count, and the money behind the login does not. In a typical South Dakota estate the list looks like this:

  • Email accounts on Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and similar services
  • Cloud storage and photo libraries on iCloud, Google Photos or Dropbox
  • Social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn
  • Exchange accounts holding Bitcoin or other tokens
  • Domain names and websites the person owned or ran
  • Online banking, PayPal and payment app logins
  • Airline miles and card rewards points
  • Subscriptions that keep charging a card every month

The dollars in a checking account still pass through probate, a beneficiary designation or a small estate affidavit. Chapter 55-19 governs access to the electronic records.

The Order South Dakota Reads Your Directions In

SDCL 55-19-4 sets a three-tier order. Here is how it works from the top down.

First, the online tool. A user may use an online tool to direct a custodian to disclose or withhold some or all digital assets, including the content of electronic communications, to a designated recipient. If the tool lets the user modify or delete the direction at all times, that direction overrides a contrary direction in a will, trust, power of attorney or other record. Section 55-19-1(16) defines the online tool as a service offered in an agreement distinct from the terms-of-service agreement, so a clause buried inside the terms does not qualify.

Three of these tools are already in most people's reach. Google Inactive Account Manager shares chosen data with chosen people after a period of inactivity. Facebook lets you name a legacy contact for a memorialized profile. Apple lets you name a Legacy Contact who can request your Apple Account data after death.

Second, your own documents. If you never used an online tool, or the custodian offers none, 55-19-4 lets you allow or prohibit disclosure to a fiduciary in a will, trust, power of attorney or any other record. The South Dakota will requirements guide covers the signing rules for the will itself.

Third, the terms of service. With no online tool and no direction in a document, the provider's agreement decides. SDCL 55-19-5 says a fiduciary's access may be modified or eliminated by the user, by federal law, or by a terms-of-service agreement if the user has not provided direction under 55-19-4.

One counterweight closes 55-19-4. A user's direction overrides a contrary terms-of-service provision that does not require the user to act affirmatively and distinctly from agreeing to the terms. A deliberate choice beats fine print.

Content Versus Catalogue

South Dakota splits a deceased person's messages across two sections, and the split decides what a personal representative can actually read.

  • The catalogue of electronic communications, defined at 55-19-1(4), identifies each person the user communicated with, the time and date, and that person's electronic address.
  • The content of an electronic communication, defined at 55-19-1(6), is information about the substance or meaning of a message the user sent or received, held by a provider serving the public, and not readily accessible to the public.

SDCL 55-19-8 covers the catalogue and every other digital asset. A custodian shall disclose them to the personal representative unless the user prohibited disclosure or the court directs otherwise.

SDCL 55-19-7 covers content, and it opens only if the deceased user consented to or a court directs disclosure.

That split surprises families. A personal representative can often learn that the decedent wrote to a lender on a certain date and still have no right to read the message. A general clause about handling your affairs does not fix it. Consent to disclosure of the content of electronic communications has to be written down.

What A Personal Representative Sends A Custodian

Both sections run on a short list.

For the catalogue and other digital assets under 55-19-8, the personal representative gives the custodian:

  1. A written request, on paper or in electronic form
  2. A certified copy of the death certificate
  3. A certified copy of the letter of appointment, a small estate affidavit, or a court order

If the custodian asks, the representative also supplies an account number, username or other identifier, evidence linking the account to the user, an affidavit that disclosure is reasonably necessary for administration of the estate, or a court finding on the account or on that necessity.

For content under 55-19-7, the list adds one item: unless the user gave direction through an online tool, a copy of the will, trust, power of attorney or other record that provides evidence of the user's consent to disclosure of content. On request, the custodian may also ask for a court finding that the user had the account, that disclosure would not violate 18 U.S.C. 2701 and following or 47 U.S.C. 222, that the user consented, or that disclosure is reasonably necessary for administration of the estate.

SDCL 55-19-26 adds a caveat worth knowing before you start. The chapter does not limit a custodian's ability to require a court order that names the account, confirms consent and contains any finding other law demands. A provider can ask for one even when your paperwork is complete.

The South Dakota probate guide explains how a personal representative is appointed and receives letters.

A Small Estate Affidavit Works In Place Of Letters

Here is the South Dakota detail worth putting in a request letter. SDCL 55-19-7(3), 55-19-8(3) and 55-19-22(2) each accept a small estate affidavit as an alternative to a certified letter of appointment.

South Dakota's personal property affidavit sits at SDCL 29A-3-1201. The successor swears that:

  • Thirty days have passed since the death
  • The entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, is worth $100,000 or less
  • No application or petition to appoint a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction
  • The decedent incurred no debt to the Department of Social Services for medical assistance for nursing home or other institutional care
  • The claiming successor is entitled to the property

A successor who qualifies never opens a court case, and under chapter 55-19 that successor can still ask a custodian for the catalogue, for other digital assets, and to close the account. The guide to using the small estate affidavit with a custodian walks through each condition. If a provider's web form asks only for letters, point to the statute: the South Dakota list names three documents, and any one of them satisfies it.

Custodians Get Sixty Days

SDCL 55-19-23 gives a South Dakota family its firmest footing. A custodian shall comply with a request to disclose digital assets or terminate an account not later than sixty days after receipt of the information required by the chapter. If the custodian misses that window, the fiduciary or designated recipient may apply to a court for an order directing compliance, and the order must contain a finding that compliance does not violate 18 U.S.C. 2702.

Date the request and keep proof of delivery. The clock starts when the custodian receives the required information, so a partial package invites a dispute about the start date.

Three nearby sections cut the other way:

  • SDCL 55-19-25 lets a custodian deny a request if it is aware of any lawful access to the account after it received the request. Once you ask, stop logging in on the decedent's behalf.
  • SDCL 55-19-24 lets a custodian notify the user that a request was made, which matters most when the user is a living principal or protected person.
  • SDCL 55-19-27 makes a custodian and its officers, employees and agents immune from liability for acts or omissions done in good faith in compliance with the chapter.

What A Custodian May Do With Your Request

SDCL 55-19-6 gives the provider room to choose how it responds.

At its sole discretion, the custodian may grant full account access, grant partial access sufficient for the fiduciary's tasks, or provide a copy in a record of any digital asset the user could have reached on the date the request arrived. It may assess a reasonable administrative charge. It need not disclose a digital asset the user deleted. If separating out part of an account would impose an undue burden, either side may ask the court for an order disclosing a date-limited subset, everything, nothing, or everything to the court for review in camera.

So a request for one folder can come back as a full export, a refusal, or a court date. Ask for the narrowest set that answers your question, and say why it is narrow.

An Agent Under A Power Of Attorney

Section 55-19-1(2) defines an agent as an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney under chapter 59-12 or a nondurable power of attorney under chapter 59-2. South Dakota then treats a living principal in two sections with different bars.

  • Content. Under SDCL 55-19-9, a custodian discloses message content only to the extent a power of attorney expressly grants the agent authority over the content of electronic communications. The agent provides a written request, the original or a copy of that power of attorney, and a certification under penalty of perjury that the document is still in force.
  • Everything else. Under SDCL 55-19-10, a custodian discloses the catalogue and other digital assets to an agent with specific authority over digital assets or general authority to act for the principal, on the same three items.

The power of attorney act points the same way. SDCL 59-12-23(1)(h) lists authority over the content of electronic communications "as provided under chapter 55-19" among the powers an agent holds only if the power of attorney expressly grants it. Two more South Dakota rules shape an agent's reach: under SDCL 59-12-9 a power of attorney ends when the principal dies, and under 59-12-3 it survives the principal's incapacity only if it says so. The South Dakota power of attorney guide covers that durability wording. When you have one drafted, ask for the express content grant, or your agent will see who wrote to you and not what they said.

Trustees And Conservators

A trustee who is the original account holder receives everything. SDCL 55-19-11 requires disclosure of any digital asset of the account held in trust, including the catalogue and the content, unless a court order or the trust says otherwise.

A trustee who is not the original user works through SDCL 55-19-12 for content and SDCL 55-19-13 for everything else. Both ask for a certified copy of the trust instrument or a certificate of trust under SDCL 55-4-51, plus the trustee's certification under penalty of perjury that the trust exists and the trustee is currently acting. For content, the document must include consent to disclosure of the content of electronic communications to the trustee. The South Dakota revocable living trust guide covers funding and the certificate.

A conservator runs through SDCL 55-19-14. After an opportunity for a hearing under chapter 29A-5, a court may grant a conservator access to a protected person's digital assets, and on a certified copy of that order a custodian discloses the catalogue and other digital assets, but not content. SDCL 55-19-15 separately lets a conservator with general authority over the protected person's assets ask a custodian to suspend or terminate an account for good cause. The South Dakota guardianship planning guide explains how a conservator is appointed.

Duties, Devices And Closing Accounts

Chapter 55-19 splits the fiduciary's powers across several short sections.

The duties. SDCL 55-19-16 applies the duty of care, the duty of loyalty and the duty of confidentiality to digital assets just as they apply to tangible property. SDCL 55-19-17 makes a fiduciary's authority subject to the terms of service except as 55-19-4 provides, subject to other law including copyright law, limited by the scope of the fiduciary's duties, and says it may not be used to impersonate the user.

Devices and self-held assets. SDCL 55-19-18 gives a fiduciary the right to access a digital asset not held by a custodian or subject to a terms-of-service agreement. SDCL 55-19-20 lets a fiduciary with authority over tangible personal property, such as a laptop or phone, access the device and any digital asset stored in it. SDCL 55-19-19 makes a fiduciary acting within the scope of those duties an authorized user for any computer fraud or unauthorized computer access law.

Closing accounts. Under SDCL 55-19-22, a fiduciary may ask a custodian to terminate the user's account. The request goes in writing with a certified death certificate if the user has died, and a certified letter of appointment, a small estate affidavit, a court order, a power of attorney or a trust giving the fiduciary authority over the account. SDCL 55-19-21 lets a custodian share the account information needed to terminate an account used to reach licensed digital assets, such as a music or e-book library.

The authorized-user protection covers a fiduciary acting in that role. It does not cover a relative who knows the password and logs in before anyone is appointed. Federal law, including the Stored Communications Act, still governs what a provider may disclose, and most terms of service forbid password sharing. Use the statutory request and the provider's own estate channel.

Cryptocurrency Needs Its Own Plan

Crypto splits into two cases under chapter 55-19.

On an exchange, the exchange is a custodian under 55-19-1(8) because it stores a digital asset of the user. It usually runs an estates process much like a bank's, so the 55-19-8 documents list and the sixty-day clock apply.

In a self-custody wallet, no custodian exists. Section 55-19-18 gives the fiduciary a legal right of access, and that right cannot recover a missing seed phrase. Without the seed phrase the coins stay out of reach, whatever a court orders.

When you settle a South Dakota estate that might hold crypto, look for a small hardware device, a written or stamped list of 12 or 24 words, files named wallet, seed or recovery, and exchange confirmation emails. Once you gain access, record the holdings and their date-of-death value promptly, because prices move fast and that figure feeds both the inventory and each heir's tax basis.

For your own planning, keep seed phrases out of unencrypted files and out of your will, which becomes a court record once it is filed for probate.

Steps To Take Now

Three moves cover most of the risk, and you can start all of them today.

Set Up The Online Tools

They sit at the top of the 55-19-4 order and take 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 Content Consent In Writing

Ask the attorney who drafts your will, trust or power of attorney for a clause that authorizes your fiduciary to access, manage and close your digital accounts and consents to disclosure of the content of your electronic communications. That consent opens 55-19-7 after death, and an express grant in the power of attorney opens 55-19-9 and 59-12-23(1)(h) during life.

Keep An Account List, Not A Password List

Write down which accounts exist and where the credentials live, and update the list once a year. Keep the passwords in a password manager, leave a sealed letter of instruction with your estate papers, and mention that letter in your will instead of pasting logins into it. For the transfers that skip court altogether, see the guide to avoiding probate in South Dakota.

What The South Dakota Act Does Not Do

SDCL 55-19-5 draws three boundaries.

  • It does not change or impair the right of a custodian or user under a terms-of-service agreement to access and use digital assets.
  • It gives a fiduciary or designated recipient no new or expanded rights beyond those the user held.
  • Access may be modified or eliminated by the user, by federal law, or by the terms of service when the user gave no direction under 55-19-4.

Section 55-19-17(2) adds that copyright law still applies, so access to a file does not transfer the right to copy or publish it.

When To Talk With A South Dakota Attorney

Bring in a South Dakota estate attorney when a custodian refuses a request that meets the statute, when you need a court order for content under 55-19-7, when a custodian claims an undue burden under 55-19-6 or demands an order under 55-19-26, or when the estate holds an online business, a monetized channel or crypto of real value. Those are the cases where the sixty-day clock in 55-19-23 turns into a court filing instead of a follow-up email.

Planning ahead costs far less. Setting up the online tools and adding a content-consent clause takes an afternoon and removes the two most common reasons a South Dakota family hears no.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which South Dakota law controls a deceased person's online accounts?

SDCL chapter 55-19, which the code names the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. It has 27 sections, 55-19-1 through 55-19-27, enacted by SL 2017, ch 209. Section 55-19-2 applies it to wills and powers of attorney signed, and deaths occurring, before, on or after July 1, 2017. The only later change on the books is SL 2020, ch 214, section 52, which amended the definitions in 55-19-1.

Does a South Dakota personal representative automatically get into the deceased person's email?

No. SDCL 55-19-7 makes a custodian disclose the content of messages only if the deceased user consented or a court directs disclosure. Letters of appointment prove who the personal representative is. They do not prove consent, so the request also needs a copy of the will, trust, power of attorney or other record showing the user's consent, unless the user gave the direction through an online tool.

What outranks a South Dakota will under the digital assets act?

An online tool the account holder used. SDCL 55-19-4 says a direction given through an online tool overrides a contrary direction in a will, trust, power of attorney or other record, as long as the tool lets the user modify or delete the direction at all times. Section 55-19-1(16) defines an online tool as a service offered under an agreement distinct from the terms-of-service agreement.

Can a South Dakota small estate affidavit replace letters for a digital asset request?

Yes. SDCL 55-19-7(3) and 55-19-8(3) each accept a certified copy of the letter of appointment, a small estate affidavit or a court order, and 55-19-22(2) accepts a small estate affidavit for an account closure request. The personal property affidavit at 29A-3-1201 needs 30 days since the death, an entire estate of $100,000 or less after liens and encumbrances, no pending or granted petition to appoint a personal representative, and no debt to the Department of Social Services for nursing home or other institutional care.

How long does a custodian have to answer a South Dakota fiduciary?

Sixty days. SDCL 55-19-23 requires a custodian to comply with a request to disclose digital assets or terminate an account not later than sixty days after it receives the information the chapter requires. If it does not, the fiduciary may apply to a court for an order directing compliance, and that order must find that compliance does not violate 18 U.S.C. 2702.

Can a South Dakota agent under a power of attorney read the principal's email?

Only with an express grant. SDCL 59-12-23(1)(h) lists authority over the content of electronic communications among the powers an agent holds only if the power of attorney expressly grants it, and SDCL 55-19-9 makes a custodian disclose content to an agent only to the extent the document expressly grants that authority. General authority reaches the catalogue and other digital assets under 55-19-10, not the messages themselves.

Related South Dakota Guides

This guide explains South Dakota's fiduciary access rules in SDCL chapter 55-19 in plain language. Account access mixes state law, federal law and each provider's own terms, so confirm anything that affects your situation with a licensed South Dakota attorney before you act.

Sources:

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Information current as of September 27, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in South Dakota can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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