As society moves deeper into the digital age, estate planning is no longer just about designating the future of traditional assets such as houses, bank accounts, and physical property. It’s also about what happens to email logins, cloud-based photo libraries, social media accounts, and crypto wallets, says attorney Matthew Luedke, owner and managing attorney of Spokane Valley-based Elevated Estate Planning PS.

“I think in most cases, not all cases, but in most cases, people would want their family to be able to access their email account or access iPhone photos,” he says.

Because so many aspects of modern life are managed online, laws have been enacted to protect how digital accounts are accessed during life and after death.

According to the Washington state Legislature, Washington state adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act in 2016. The act provides a legal framework that allows individuals to designate fiduciaries with specific authority to access and manage digital accounts, Luedke says.

“There’s a couple of different parts at play,” explains Luedke. “There's the law side of things of who is going to be able to access your digital assets. And then there's the end-user agreements for all these websites and services that we sign up for. On the law side of things, you name a fiduciary to essentially be your representative to the custodians of these digital assets.”

Custodians in this case could be companies that own or operate the digital platforms — for example Facebook, Instagram, Apple Inc., Google LLC, or Microsoft Corp. — where these digital assets are stored, says Luedke.

The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act was created to recognize the personal and sometimes financial value of digital assets, he says. Legally recognized digital assets include any content or media stored or accessed electronically, such as emails, photos, social media accounts, online banking records, and investment accounts.

These accounts are typically governed by end-user license agreements, which often prohibit unauthorized access, even by family members, Luedke says. Logging into a deceased person’s account using their password, even with good intentions, can technically violate anti-piracy laws. In other words, he says, a spouse logging into a Gmail email service account after someone dies could be seen as breaking the law, even if they’re trying to receive a vital document or a treasured memory.

The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act allows people to legally authorize fiduciaries to access digital accounts. Luedke says this can be included in a power of attorney authorization for use during life, and in a will or trust for post-death administration.

Fiduciaries can formally request access from the digital custodian. However, even with the legal authority, full access isn’t guaranteed, he says. Google, for example, may only provide a listing of emails, not the content. To access more, the agent may need to get a court order or subpoena.

“If I’m someone’s agent and I need to get into their emails to find a receipt for something that was purchased, … I can go to Google and ask Gmail for essentially a listing of the catalog of the emails that were sent and received, but not the content of the emails,” Luedke says. “It’s a little bit useful because I see that this one looks like a receipt, and now I can go and get a subpoena.”

Planning ahead is crucial because without an estate plan, families may face delays of several months and costly litigation to resolve digital access issues, he says.

Some companies offer in-account tools, such as Facebook’s Legacy Contact or Apple’s Digital Legacy programs, that allow users to designate someone to access their account after death. These must be set up in advance of the user's death.

“The second Facebook or Google finds out about someone passing away, they lock the account,” Luedke says. “And really the only way to retrieve any of that information is to go through official channels.”

Major tech companies, he says, have updated the end-user license agreements to allow users to appoint a legacy contact.

“Apple is a huge privacy company, and so when everyone has an iPhone in their pocket, and all of their photos are saved on an Apple system, it’s kind of a big deal,” Luedke says. “I’m going to want my wife to be able to access all of my accounts if I get hit by a bus, and all my photos of our kids, and things like that. Those are in the end-user license agreement.”

According to Facebook guidelines, users can choose a legacy contact or opt to have their account deleted after death. The legacy contact can manage the memorialized profile. Instagram follows similar guidelines.

If a legacy contact is named, or an estate plan is in place, verified immediate family members can request account removal or deactivation by submitting legal documentation, such as a power of attorney document or death certificate.

But not all social media platforms have end-user license agreements, he explains.

“A lot of companies will do it, but not all, not TikTok,” he says. "They shut down that account if a TikTok account goes inactive for 60 days.”

Luedke notes that digital assets extend beyond photos and emails. Today, they also include cryptocurrency; non-fungible tokens, also referred to as NFTs; and other blockchain-based properties. While these aren’t technically covered by the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act in the same way as traditional assets, they represent a challenge for estate planning.

“Cryptocurrency is not currency, it’s personal property,” he says. 

These assets are stored in digital wallets, and access requires a private key. Without it, there’s no way to recover them.

“This is something that exists in the ether, and it has, and it can have, significant value,” he adds. “And that value can change significantly from day to day."

Accessing these accounts typically requires a death certificate and going through probate court — a process that can be slow.

“The account could be worthless in a very short time,” Luedke says.

He says many people underestimate the complexity of their digital lives until it’s too late.

“I have a friend’s dad who died suddenly at 64,” he says. “He was a bigwig with an organization and … (the family) needed access to his calendar on his phone to plan the funeral. They couldn’t get to it. Verizon wouldn’t give it to them until after they opened probate.”

These situations highlight why planning is so critical, he says, not just for the person passing away but for the loved ones left behind.

“Estate planning is a gift you give to others. You don’t need it,” Luedke says. “Doing all of these documents is far less about you, and more about giving the people you care about the authority they need to be able to wind up your affairs and make that experience one that isn’t an additional trauma. It’s a huge gift.”

Elevated Estate Planning has offices in Spokane, at 9507 N. Division, in Spokane Valley, at 1220 N. Mullan Road; in Kennewick, Washington; and in Yakima, Washington. The firm employs six attorneys and 25 other staff. Originally founded in 1994 as Moulton Law Offices, the company was purchased by Luedke and rebranded to Elevated Estate Planning in September 2025.