DIGITAL EXECUTOR SERVICES (and Legal Oversight)
Will - Updating Will - Invalid or No Will - Power of Attorney - Personal Directive
To schedule an appointment, contact our law firm at 403-400-4092 or Chris@NeufeldLegal.com
With the evolution of tech, and the rise of digital executor services (be it specifically appointed individuals or third-party platforms) that aim to manage your digital estate (the collection of online accounts, files, and electronic property) after you pass away. The management of your digital estate can be placed at serious risk when you are dead or incapacitated, such that the value of knowledgeable legal counsel to oversee those arrangements and thereafter ensure that procedures are correctly followed is invaluable to the protection of your digital estate; especially given its susceptiblity to serious legal concerns (including misappropriation, inaction, omissions).
Unlike a traditional executor who manages physical property and bank accounts, a digital executor focuses on assets that exist solely in the cloud or on devices - requiring special arrangements that are required to overcome certain archaic apects of traditional wills and estate planning [more on crypto estate planning]. For cryptocurrency, this role is critical because digital wallets are secured by private keys or seed phrases; without a designated person who knows where these are stored and how to use them, these digital assets can be permanently lost to the blockchain, as no central bank can reset a forgotten crypto password.
In the context of cryptocurrency, these services often involve a mix of technical tools and legal designations. A digital executor may be tasked with managing "dead man’s switches" (automated systems that release access after a period of inactivity), hardware wallets (like Ledger or Trezor), and exchange accounts (like Coinbase). They ensure that high-value assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or NFTs are securely transferred to beneficiaries rather than sitting dormant in a wallet that no one can open. They also handle lower-stakes digital assets, such as memorializing social media profiles or closing subscription services to prevent identity theft.
Your lawyer plays a pivotal role in coordinating and formalizing your digital executor’s authority within your estate plan, ensuring they have the legal standing to bypass privacy barriers without violating computer fraud laws, while providing legal oversight of these modernized assets that are more susceptible to impropriety and mistakes. And due to a will's public nature during probate, your legal counsel can devise a separate Digital Asset Memorandum, which provides private technical instructions and key locations without exposing sensitive information (i.e., keys, seed phrases) to the public. Moreover, in dealing with your digital assets as part of your inheritance, your legal counsel needs to navigate an ever-evolving regulatory landscape, often involving multiple jurisdictions, and coordinating between traditional and digital executors, such that your cryptocurrency is treated as a legitimate, inheritable legacy rather than an inaccessible string of data.
If you are looking at legal avenues to protect the transference of your digital assets, in conjunction with the development of your will and other estate planning documents, we welcome you to contact our law firm today at 403-400-4092 or via email at Chris@NeufeldLegal.com to schedule an initial consultation.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This website is designed for general informational purposes. The site is not designed to answer specific questions about your individual situation or entitlement. Do not rely upon the information provided on this website as legal advice in respect of your individual situation nor use it as substitute for individual legal advice. If you want specific legal advice, you need to engage a lawyer under established legal engagement procedures that have been specifically agreed to by that lawyer.
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