Digital Assets in Probate: Applying Colorado’s RUFADAA to Protect Your Online Footprint

Your estate is no longer limited to deeds, bank statements, and stock certificates. Photos sit in iCloud, business records live in Google Drive, and part of your portfolio might ride on a hardware wallet the size of a flash drive. When you pass away, someone must marshal those digital assets, yet federal privacy laws often block access. Colorado’s Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) creates a pathway, but only if your planning documents deploy it correctly. This article explains how RUFADAA works, why it matters to families and practitioners, and what steps you can take today to secure control tomorrow.

What Counts as a Digital Asset

Colorado law defines a digital asset as any electronic record you own or control. That broad phrase covers:

• Social-media content such as Instagram photos, X (formerly Twitter) posts, and Facebook messages
• Cloud documents and email stored on platforms like Gmail or Office 365
• Photos and home videos preserved in Amazon Photos or Apple Photos
• Domain names, blogs, and revenue-producing websites
• Cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens, and in-game valuables such as skins or coins
• Loyalty rewards, airline miles, and online gift card balances
  Each category may hold emotional or monetary value. Ignoring them risks loss or even theft while your estate moves through probate.

RUFADAA’s Three-Tier Permission System

The statute gives service providers a clear hierarchy for honoring requests:

1. Online tool directives – Some companies let you name a legacy contact in account settings. Apple’s Digital Legacy and Google’s Inactive Account Manager are popular examples. Your election inside the platform overrides conflicting language in any estate document.
2. Governing instrument provisions – If the account lacks an internal tool, the next source of authority is your will, trust, or power of attorney. Explicit grants of access and the right to receive content trump default terms of service.
3. Default state rules – Absent both an online designation and written authority, the provider may rely on Colorado’s default access rules, which limit what a fiduciary may obtain and often require a court order.
   Practical tip for lawyers: insert a clause that tracks RUFADAA’s language verbatim. Providers look for specific statutory citations before releasing data.

Roles and Responsibilities Under RUFADAA

• Personal representative – After death, this fiduciary can request disclosure of content to settle the estate. The representative must supply a death certificate, letters of appointment, and sometimes a court order describing the asset.
• Agent under power of attorney – While you are living, your agent may need access if you become incapacitated. The power must expressly allow the agent to read electronic communications; a general property clause is not enough.
• Trustee – If the trust owns digital property, the trustee may request access the same way a personal representative would. Separately titled crypto wallets often fall into this category.
• Guardian or conservator – With court approval, these fiduciaries can manage digital assets on behalf of a protected person.
  A lawyer drafting documents should list each role, cite RUFADAA, and grant the minimum access needed to perform fiduciary duties.

Common Pitfalls When Digital Assets Enter Probate

• Terms of service conflicts – Most agreements prohibit password sharing. Without a RUFADAA-compliant directive, your family risks criminal liability under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act if they log in with your credentials.
• Two-factor authentication roadblocks – Even with authority, a fiduciary may need the decedent’s phone or hardware key to complete security prompts. Planning should include a secure record of authentication devices.
• Valuation challenges – Cryptocurrency prices fluctuate by the second, and collectible NFTs can swing wildly. Executors must capture time-stamped screenshots and obtain formal appraisals when estate-tax filings are required.
• Hidden liabilities – Subscription services often auto-renew. Failure to cancel eats estate funds. A complete inventory helps fiduciaries shut down recurring charges quickly.

Steps Clients Can Take Now

• Review and update online legacy settings. Apple, Google, Facebook, and many others provide internal tools. Elect a trusted person and ensure the email address you name is current.
• Store an encrypted digital asset inventory. List account names, approximate values, and where to find credentials. Never place raw passwords in a safe-deposit box; instead, record master credentials for a password manager or hardware wallet seed phrase.
• Sign a digital-asset power of attorney. Grant your agent the power to access electronic communications, manage crypto keys, and close accounts. Include RUFADAA citations so providers recognize the document.
• Amend your will or trust. Direct your personal representative or trustee to take possession of digital property, and waive service-provider liability when they follow lawful instructions.

Checklist for Attorneys Drafting RUFADAA Clauses

• Cite Colorado Revised Statutes § 15-14-1501 through § 15-14-1520.
• Distinguish between “catalogue records” (metadata) and “content” (full messages) because providers can refuse to share content without explicit consent.
• Include language authorizing disclosure of deleted items when forensic access is necessary.
• Provide indemnity for service providers that rely in good faith on the direction.
• Reference federal laws: Stored Communications Act § 18 U.S.C. 2701 and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act § 18 U.S.C. 1030.
• Advise clients to update directives whenever they create key new accounts.

Ethical Duties When Advising on Digital Assets

The Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct require technological competence. Lawyers must understand encryption, multi-factor authentication, and data privacy so they can spot barriers that frustrate fiduciaries. Failing to inform a client about RUFADAA could breach the duty of competence, especially when digital holdings form a significant portion of the estate.

Sample Scenario: Crypto Wallet in the Personal Safe

Maria owns Bitcoin worth two million dollars and keeps her hardware wallet in a locked safe. Her will names her brother as personal representative, but the document does not mention digital assets. At probate, the brother finds the device yet lacks the twelve-word seed phrase. Service providers cannot help because the blockchain is decentralized. Without RUFADAA language granting access authority and detailed instructions on recovering the wallet, the estate loses the entire holding. A single paragraph in the will and a sealed note stored with the device would have preserved the value.

Why Immediate Planning Beats Post-Mortem Litigation

Courts can issue orders compelling disclosure, but providers often fight or delay production, especially when requests cover content rather than log-in metadata. Litigating costs money and exposes private family communications to the public record. Preventing the dispute with a comprehensive digital-asset plan costs far less and respects confidentiality.

How Braverman Law Group Guides Clients Through RUFADAA

• Asset audits uncover hidden online property, from dormant PayPal balances to domain registries linked to side businesses.
• Customized powers of attorney grant the narrowest effective authority, reducing privacy risks while meeting fiduciary needs.
• Trust structures hold crypto and intellectual property under a single umbrella, with corporate trustees who understand cold‐storage security.
• Continuing education sessions train successor fiduciaries to administer online accounts, avoiding accidental violations of federal anti-hacking statutes.

Secure Your Digital Legacy Today

Your emails, photos, and Bitcoin wallet deserve the same stewardship as your home and brokerage account. Colorado’s RUFADAA gives you the framework, but only deliberate drafting and well-kept inventories ensure swift access for those who will manage your estate. Braverman Law Group stands ready to integrate digital-asset strategies into your broader plan, protecting both sentimental memories and high-value holdings from unnecessary loss. Call (303) 800-1588 or reach out through our secure contact form to schedule a consultation. Preserve your online legacy with the same care you devote to every other facet of your estate.