Virginia Digital Assets Planning

Most Virginia 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. Virginia answers the access question with its own codified law: the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, Va. Code Sections 64.2-116 through 64.2-132 (Title 64.2, Chapter 1, Article 3.1), effective July 1, 2017.

This guide leads with what those sections actually say, then covers what you can do now so your own personal representative is not locked out and where cryptocurrency needs special handling. It pairs with the Virginia estate planning basics guide. It is general information, not legal advice.

Virginia's Digital Assets Act, Sections 64.2-116 to 64.2-132

Virginia was among the first states in the country to legislate on fiduciary access to digital assets. Its 2015 Privacy Expectation Afterlife and Choices Act was one of the earliest state laws on the subject, and in 2017 Virginia replaced it with the modern Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act now codified at Sections 64.2-116 through 64.2-132. A few features of the codified Virginia act carry real weight when you settle a Virginia estate.

A codified order of priority (Sections 64.2-118 and 64.2-119). Virginia writes the three-tier priority into statute rather than leaving it to guesswork. Section 64.2-118 makes a provider's online tool controlling if the user used it; a direction in a will, trust, or power of attorney comes next; and Section 64.2-119 sends you to the provider's terms of service only when neither of the first two applies. The order below reflects these sections.

The content-versus-catalogue split (Sections 64.2-121 and 64.2-122). The Virginia act separates the content of electronic communications from everything else. Section 64.2-122 lets a personal representative reach the non-content record (the catalogue) on a straightforward showing, while Section 64.2-121 releases the actual text of emails and messages only when the deceased person consented, through an online tool or in a will, trust, or power of attorney. This is why generic "handle my affairs" language often falls short for email content in Virginia.

A defined disclosure procedure (Section 64.2-121). For content of a deceased Virginia user's communications, Section 64.2-121 tells a custodian what it may require: a written request, a certified copy of the death certificate, a certified copy of the personal representative's letter of appointment (or a small-estate affidavit or court order), and, unless an online tool was used, a copy of the will, trust, or power of attorney evidencing consent. The custodian may also ask for account-identifying information or a court finding. Section 64.2-122 sets a similar but lighter showing for non-content assets.

A 60-day compliance clock (Section 64.2-130). This is a concrete Virginia deadline. Under Section 64.2-130, a custodian must comply with a qualifying request to disclose digital assets or terminate an account no later than 60 days after it receives the required information. If it does not, the fiduciary may apply to court for an order directing compliance, and the court order must find that compliance does not violate the federal Stored Communications Act (18 U.S.C. Section 2702). The same section grants custodians good-faith immunity, and Section 64.2-120 lets a custodian charge a reasonable administrative fee and decline to disclose assets the user deleted.

It runs through Virginia estate administration, not a separate probate court. Virginia has no standalone probate court. A personal representative qualifies before the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the city or county where the estate is administered, and the estate is then overseen by the Commissioner of Accounts for that court. The "letter of appointment" a custodian asks for under Section 64.2-121 is your certificate of qualification from the Circuit Court clerk. The digital accounts you unlock feed the same inventory and accounting you file with the Commissioner of Accounts, so treat online balances and crypto as estate property to be reported.

The moving parts in the rest of this guide, naming a fiduciary, using provider tools, keeping an inventory, come from the uniform act that many states share and look similar from state to state. What is specific to Virginia is the codified act itself: Sections 64.2-116 to 64.2-132, the 60-day clock in Section 64.2-130, the content-versus-catalogue line in Sections 64.2-121 and 64.2-122, and the Circuit Court clerk and Commissioner of Accounts structure that supplies the paperwork. A Virginia estate planning attorney drafts to those sections.

What Counts as a Digital Asset

The act 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 Virginia's ordinary financial and probate rules. RUFADAA governs the login and the records, not the underlying account balance.

The Three-Tier Priority, in Practice

Sections 64.2-118 and 64.2-119 set the order a Virginia fiduciary and family walk down.

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. Common tools are Google Inactive Account Manager, Facebook Legacy Contact, and Apple Digital Legacy. A valid online tool designation beats your will: if you used Google to send your Gmail data to your daughter, your personal representative cannot reroute it to your son. Setting these tools now is the single most reliable step you can take.
Your will, trust, or power of attorney. If no online tool applies, the act looks to your own documents. A clause granting your personal representative authority over digital accounts, or a trust naming your digital property, gives your fiduciary a solid basis to ask providers for access. Note the Virginia power-of-attorney wrinkle: authority over the content of a principal's electronic communications must be expressly granted in a power of attorney under Section 64.2-1622, so a general grant is not enough on its own.
The provider's terms of service. With no online tool and no direction in your documents, the terms of service decide. This is the weakest position; many platforms give a personal representative little beyond memorialization or deletion.

Remember the content-versus-catalogue line above: even at Tier 2, reaching the actual text of emails and messages under Section 64.2-121 needs your explicit consent to content disclosure, while the non-content catalogue (who, when, subject lines) comes more easily under Section 64.2-122. Generic "handle my affairs" language often is not enough for email content, which is 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 Clerk of the Circuit 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 a Virginia Personal Representative Requests Access After Death

When you are the personal representative of a Virginia estate, the act gives you a workable path built on the Circuit Court paperwork you already hold:

Check for an online tool designation first. Look at each provider's legacy, memorialization, or inactive account pages before anything else. An online tool controls over your other steps under Section 64.2-118.
Review the will and any trust for digital asset authority and, critically, for consent to disclose the content of communications.
Gather your Virginia documentation. For content under Section 64.2-121 a custodian may require a written request, a certified death certificate, a certified copy of your certificate of qualification (your letter of appointment from the Clerk of the Circuit Court), and, unless an online tool was used, the will, trust, or power of attorney that shows consent. Non-content requests under Section 64.2-122 take a lighter showing.
Submit through the provider's official channel and track the 60-day clock. Under Section 64.2-130 the custodian has 60 days from receiving your information to comply. Providers differ widely, so document every request and response.

If a provider misses the 60-day deadline or refuses a request that complies with the act, you may apply to the Circuit Court for an order directing compliance under Section 64.2-130, and for the content of communications you may need a court order. Report the accounts and balances you recover on the inventory and accountings you file with the Commissioner of Accounts.

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 certificate of qualification 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 Virginia estate attorney can tell you where the line sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my Virginia personal representative 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 personal representative 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 certificate of qualification from the Circuit Court clerk, a death certificate, and a written request, and can insist on evidence of consent or a court order for the content of communications. It cannot lawfully refuse a valid request that complies with Virginia's Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, and under Section 64.2-130 it must respond within 60 days or you can ask the Circuit Court to order compliance.

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 Clerk of the Circuit Court. Keep passwords in a password manager or a sealed letter of instruction and reference that separate document in your will.

Sources:

Title: Code of Virginia, Title 64.2, Chapter 1, Article 3.1, Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. Publisher: Virginia General Assembly (Virginia Law). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-07-01. URL: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title64.2/chapter1/
Title: Code of Virginia Section 64.2-1622, agent authority over the content of electronic communications. Publisher: Virginia General Assembly (Virginia Law). Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-07-01. URL: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/64.2-1622/
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 Virginia. Digital asset planning involves legal and technical choices specific to your situation, so consult a Virginia estate planning attorney for advice on your accounts. It is not legal advice.