Updated 28 October 2026
CM Law's Ultimate 50 List: Making a Will #28 - How are digital assets handled in a will?
How are digital assets handled in a NSW will?
A NSW will can direct who receives digital assets and rights that form part of your estate and authorise your executor to administer them. Effective planning also requires an account inventory, secure recovery arrangements and compatible platform settings. Inheriting an asset does not automatically provide access to the account holding it.
Your digital estate may include money, business interests and irreplaceable family records. Identify what exists before deciding whether it should be transferred, preserved, memorialised or closed.
- Financial interests include cryptocurrency holdings, online investment accounts and balances held through payment services.
- Creative assets can include copyright you own in photographs, videos, books, music or software, together with associated royalties.
- Business records may include websites, domain registrations, customer databases, advertising accounts and contracts.
- Personal records include photographs, emails and cloud files. Subscriptions, utility accounts and government logins also need an administration plan, even when they have no resale value.
Can every online account or digital purchase be inherited?
Not every digital item is transferable property. Some services provide a personal licence, while others restrict account transfers or disclose only selected information after death. Your will cannot give beneficiaries greater rights than you hold. Check ownership and contractual terms separately from the practical question of how someone will obtain access.
The eSafety Commissioner’s guidance explains that purchased digital content may be licensed rather than owned outright. A device, the files stored on it and the copyright in those files can involve different rights.
Ownership structures also matter. Company assets generally belong to the company, although your shares may pass through your estate. Trust assets usually require separate succession planning. Avoid treating every account you administer for a business or family trust as your personal property.
Should passwords and recovery phrases go in the will?
Keep passwords, private keys and cryptocurrency recovery phrases out of the will. Use a separate, secure recovery arrangement that your authorised representative can locate when needed. Maintain an account inventory without secret credentials, and review both regularly. Possessing a password does not, by itself, establish lawful authority to use an account.
Record account names, providers, identifying details, relevant devices and the location of important records. Note what should happen to family photographs, business material and personal correspondence. Keep sensitive access information separately, with advice on secure storage and authorised release.
Back up important files while you can, using services and devices you control. Tell your executor where the inventory is kept. Avoid creating a recovery arrangement that depends entirely on a phone or email account that nobody will be able to access.
How do Apple, Google and Facebook legacy settings work?
Platform legacy tools can help nominated people obtain permitted data or manage an account after death, but their powers differ. They do not replace a will or automatically appoint an executor. Coordinate the settings with your estate plan, tell your nominated contacts about their role and check the provider’s current requirements.
- Apple Legacy Contact: the contact generally needs the access key generated during setup and your death certificate. Access excludes purchased media and subscriptions, and iCloud Keychain information such as passwords, passkeys and payment details.
- Google Inactive Account Manager: you choose contacts and data to share after a selected period of inactivity. The trigger is inactivity, not proof of death, and the arrangement does not itself determine inheritance.
- Facebook legacy contacts: a contact can manage specified features of a memorialised profile. They cannot log in as you or read your private messages through that role.
Choose contacts carefully. Apple permits each Legacy Contact to make decisions individually, including deleting data; appointing two contacts does not create joint control. Check that preservation and deletion choices match what your family and executor will need.
Cryptocurrency planning must address both entitlement and practical control. Identify the holdings, whether they are held through a platform or a wallet you control, and how an authorised representative can recover them securely. A gift in a will may be ineffective in practice if the necessary recovery material cannot be found.
Distinguish an exchange’s deceased-estate process from access to a self-controlled wallet. ASIC’s Moneysmart guidance warns that losing a private key usually means losing the crypto. A court order cannot be assumed to recreate missing cryptographic information.
Discuss secure custody, recovery instructions and specialist assistance with your lawyer. Do not put recovery phrases in an ordinary account list or disclose them to someone offering an unverified recovery service. Your executor also needs to understand valuation volatility before making administration decisions.
Retain purchase records, transaction histories and Australian-dollar values. Inheritance, estate income and later disposals can have different tax consequences. Selling or exchanging inherited crypto may create tax obligations; obtain tax advice before transactions or distributions.
What should online businesses and content creators consider?
Creators and online business owners should identify who owns the content, contractual rights, outstanding income and account infrastructure supporting their work. A will should fit the business structure and relevant agreements. Platform access, copyright ownership and the right to receive payments may belong to different people or entities.
List domain renewal dates, hosting arrangements, royalty statements, sponsorship obligations and records of collaboration. Check whether content was created personally, through a company or under an agreement assigning rights to someone else.
Arrange appropriate business administration access during life where the platform permits it. Record who should deal with ongoing enquiries and unpaid invoices after death. Giving someone a social media password is not a complete business succession plan.
What should an executor do with digital assets after death?
An executor should identify and preserve relevant assets and records, establish authority and use each provider’s official deceased-account process. Before deleting accounts or cancelling connected services, check whether they contain estate evidence, business records or material beneficiaries need. The executor may require legal, accounting or technical assistance to administer particular assets.
Gather the death certificate, will and any required grant of probate or other authority. Provider restrictions, confidentiality and other people’s privacy may limit what can be released. Do not assume that owning the deceased’s laptop gives unrestricted access to all connected accounts.
Google’s deceased-account process, for example, does not provide passwords or login details. Google warns that closing an account prevents a later request for its contents. Seek required records before requesting closure.
A person informally called a digital executor does not gain special legal powers from that label. Define any appointment or assistance properly, and keep records of requests, recovered assets and administration decisions.
Can a document on a computer be treated as a will?
An electronic document can sometimes be recognised as an informal will by the Supreme Court of NSW, but this requires evidence and a legal determination. It is a different question from whether an executor can access digital assets. Families should preserve potentially relevant files and obtain advice rather than assuming validity.
In Yazbek v Yazbek [2012] NSWSC 594, the Court considered a Word document named Will.doc found on Daniel Yazbek’s laptop. His brother argued that it was his will, while his parents disputed that position. The Court examined the document and surrounding evidence, including computer records.
The Court found the necessary testamentary intention and admitted the electronic document to probate under section 8 of the Succession Act 2006. The decision does not make every saved note a valid will or require platforms to release passwords. It demonstrates why devices and electronic documents should be preserved until their significance is understood.
How should a digital estate plan be prepared and reviewed?
Prepare your digital estate plan with a lawyer who can check the will, ownership arrangements and intended gifts against your account inventory. Coordinate provider settings and secure recovery instructions, and review the plan when accounts, assets or relationships change. A separate inventory should support the will rather than informally rewrite its gifts.
Ordinary NSW will-making requirements include a written will and proper signing and witnessing. The will-maker’s signature must be made or acknowledged before two witnesses present together, who then sign in the will-maker’s presence. Online preparation does not remove these requirements.
Ask about executor powers, specialist assistance and how residual gifts cover newly acquired assets. Keep instructions about preserving sentimental material clear and consistent.
CM Lawyers can assist with wills and estate planning and estate administration. Contact Christine Manolakos and the team to have your documents and digital arrangements checked for your circumstances.
General information about NSW estate planning. Always have a lawyer check your will and proposed digital arrangements before relying on them.
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