Wisconsin Digital Assets Planning

Most Wisconsin 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 accounts carry real financial and sentimental value, yet a family often has no idea an account exists, let alone how to reach it. Wisconsin governs all of it under one statute, and this guide leads with what that statute actually says before turning to what you can do now.

The Wisconsin Digital Property Act (Wis. Stat. Chapter 711)

Wisconsin's rules live in Chapter 711 of the Wisconsin Statutes, titled "Digital Property", which Wis. Stat. 711.01 names the Wisconsin Digital Property Act. The chapter runs from Wis. Stat. 711.01 through 711.16. It is Wisconsin's version of the uniform fiduciary-access framework, but note the Wisconsin label: the statute is the Digital Property Act, and Wisconsin uses the term digital property rather than "digital asset" throughout. A fiduciary settling a Wisconsin estate works from Chapter 711, not from the generic model-act name.

Chapter 711 does two jobs at once. It gives a fiduciary a legal path to the accounts needed to settle the estate, and it preserves the privacy the account holder reasonably expected. Four features carry most of the weight in a Wisconsin estate, and each is genuinely a Wisconsin codified rule:

A codified three-tier priority (Wis. Stat. 711.04). An online-tool designation controls first, then your own documents, then the provider's terms of service. Wisconsin puts this order in statute.
The catalogue-versus-content line (Wis. Stat. 711.03, 711.05). A fiduciary reaches the catalogue of communications by default, but the content of communications only with the deceased user's consent.
The disclosure procedure for a personal representative (Wis. Stat. 711.05). The statute lists exactly what a Wisconsin personal representative must send the provider, including proof of authority tied to Wisconsin probate.
A 60-day compliance clock (Wis. Stat. 711.10). A custodian that receives a complying request must act within 60 days, and a fiduciary can go to the Wisconsin Circuit Court to enforce that deadline.

Under Wis. Stat. 711.03(10), digital property is an electronic record in which a person has a right or interest. In practical terms that sweeps in nearly everything managed 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: Wis. Stat. 711.03(10) reaches the electronic record itself, not the money behind it. The dollars in an online bank account still pass through Wisconsin's ordinary financial and probate rules. Chapter 711 governs the login and the records, not the underlying account balance.

The Three-Tier Priority (Wis. Stat. 711.04)

Wisconsin codifies the access order in Wis. Stat. 711.04, and 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 personal representative 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, Wis. Stat. 711.04(2) looks to your own legal documents. Directions in a will, a trust, a power of attorney, or another record that address digital property control at this tier. A will clause granting your personal representative 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 a personal representative 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 (Wis. Stat. 711.03, 711.05)

Chapter 711 draws one distinction that surprises many families, and it drives what a Wisconsin personal representative can actually read. The statute splits electronic communications, such as email and private messages, into two defined layers:

The catalogue (Wis. Stat. 711.03(4)) is the metadata: the person a user communicated with, the time and date, and the electronic address.
The content (Wis. Stat. 711.03(6)) is the substance or meaning of the message itself.

Under Wis. Stat. 711.05, a fiduciary obtains the catalogue by default, but the custodian discloses the content only if the deceased user consented or a court directs it. That consent comes through an online tool or from language in the will, trust, power of attorney, or a consent instrument. Without it, a personal representative may learn that emails were exchanged with a bank but not read what they said. This is exactly why generic "my personal representative may handle my affairs" language often is not enough for email content, and why specific Chapter 711 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 property 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. Wisconsin adds one wrinkle here: it is a marital property state, and Wis. Stat. 711.13 sends the classification of a married person's digital property to Wis. Stat. 766.625. So a shared account's ownership can turn on your marital property status and any marital property agreement, not only the provider's records, which is worth raising with your attorney.

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 Register in Probate. 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 Personal Representative Requests Access After Death (Wis. Stat. 711.05, 711.10)

When you are the personal representative of a Wisconsin estate, Wis. Stat. 711.05 gives you a specific path, and Wis. Stat. 711.10 gives the custodian a deadline. The executor duties guide covers the broader role. The steps below track what Chapter 711 requires for digital accounts:

Check for an online tool designation first. Look at each provider's legacy, memorialization, or inactive account pages before anything else, since Wis. Stat. 711.04 puts a valid designation above your documents.
Review the will and any trust. Confirm what digital property authority the documents grant, and whether they consent to content of communications. A revocable living trust may hold or reference digital property directly.
Assemble the documentation Wis. Stat. 711.05 lists. The statute directs you to send the custodian a written request, a certified copy of the death certificate, and proof of your authority. In a Wisconsin estate that proof is typically your domiciliary letters from the Circuit Court, but Chapter 711 also accepts a summary settlement order, an affidavit under Wis. Stat. 867.03 (the transfer-by-affidavit route for small estates), or an application under Wis. Stat. 867.046. A custodian may also ask for the account username, evidence linking the account to the deceased, or, for the content of communications, an affidavit that access is reasonably necessary to administer the estate or a court order.
Submit through the provider's official channel and hold the custodian to 60 days. Under Wis. Stat. 711.10, a custodian that receives a complying request must act not later than 60 days after receiving it. Providers still differ in practice: Google's process is functional, Meta is slower, and some small platforms have no process at all. Document every request and response so you can enforce the clock if needed.

If a provider ignores the 60-day deadline or refuses a request that complies with Chapter 711, Wis. Stat. 711.10 lets you ask the Wisconsin Circuit Court to order compliance, and for the content of communications a court order may be required. A probate attorney can bring that motion.

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 domiciliary 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 Chapter 711 process and the provider's official channels rather than self-help logins. When in doubt, a Wisconsin estate attorney can tell you where the line sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my Wisconsin personal representative automatically get into my online accounts?

No. Under the Wisconsin Digital Property Act (Wis. Stat. Chapter 711), access depends on the directions you left. If you used an online tool or added digital property authority to your will, trust, or power of attorney, your personal representative has a legal basis to request access under Wis. Stat. 711.04 and 711.05. 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 the documentation Wis. Stat. 711.05 lists, such as your domiciliary letters, a certified death certificate, and a written request, and can insist on a court order for the content of communications. It cannot lawfully refuse a request that complies with Chapter 711, and under Wis. Stat. 711.10 it must act 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 Register in Probate. Keep passwords in a password manager or a sealed letter of instruction and reference that separate document in your will.

Sources:

Title: Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 711, Digital Property (Wisconsin Digital Property Act, ss. 711.01 to 711.16), including 711.03 definitions, 711.04 priorities, 711.05 disclosure to a personal representative, 711.10 custodian compliance, and 711.13 marital property classification. Publisher: Wisconsin State Legislature. Publication Date: Current official statutes, accessed 2026-07-02. URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/711
Title: Wisconsin Statutes s. 766.625, Classification of digital property. Publisher: Wisconsin State Legislature. Publication Date: Current official statutes, accessed 2026-07-02. URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/766/625
Title: Inactive Account Manager. Publisher: Google. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-07-02. URL: https://myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy
Title: Add a Legacy Contact for a memorialized account. Publisher: Meta (Facebook). Publication Date: Accessed 2026-07-02. URL: https://www.facebook.com/help/1568013990080948

This guide provides general information about digital property under the Wisconsin Digital Property Act (Wis. Stat. Chapter 711). Digital property planning involves legal and technical choices specific to your situation, so consult a Wisconsin estate planning attorney for advice on your accounts. It is not legal advice.