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.

What is Web3? Web3 is seen as the potential next “generation” of the internet and technology at large, where social media platforms and search engines would be owned collectively, rather than by a single corporation. Rather than having to log into different accounts depending on the platform, individuals would be able to use a single personalized account throughout the internet and vote on how a platform should be improved over time. According to experts in the field, his technology would be built using blockchain technology, which is currently used by cryptocurrency.

How Can Web3 Affect My Estate Plan?

If Web3 becomes a reality in the future, individuals could build blockchain-based estate plans. This would allow individuals to set up smart contracts that would immediately pass their assets to their beneficiaries, without having to go through the current hurdles that individuals face—like probate court. When a person passed away, the assets would be sent to the listed beneficiary on the estate plan, which would speed along the estate planning process and not require loved ones to have to wait months on end—if not longer—until the assets are cleared to be given to them.

Web3 would also make current estate planning methods more accessible. Individuals would be able to compile their will, beneficiary designations, and health and financial planning documents in a single place online. While this is already possible to a degree, Web3 technology would make it easier for people to keep this information in one place and not have to remember multiple passwords and login information.

While Web3 and the utilization of blockchain technology in estate planning is uncertain—and it may take years to develop—individuals should feel certain that if this future comes to pass, estate planning attorneys will be able to advise clients on how to adapt their estate plan.

Contact a Boulder Estate Planning Attorney

If you or a loved one needs help crafting an estate plan, contact the Boulder estate planning attorneys at the Braverman Law Group. Our experienced estate planning attorneys can work with you to create an estate plan, alter your current plan to meet the technological advances of the future, or discuss alternative estate planning strategies with you. Estate planning should not be another aspect of your daily life bringing you stress; by working with us, we can reduce your worries and ensure your future is secured. To schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our trusted attorneys, give us a call today at (303) 800-1588.

Share Account Information with Loved Ones via a Password Manager

It is understandable that individuals do not want to be sending other people their password information while they are alive, as the accounts are still being utilized. However, it is important that loved ones know this information, so when the person passes away, they can access it. This is especially critical for accounts like financing or bank accounts, or the password to the individual’s phone so loved ones can notify others about the person’s passing.

There is specific password manager software that families utilize that stores all account logins and other information they want securely hidden. While the software contains all of the login and password information for the individual’s accounts, they need only remember a single master password to set up the account and access these digital assets.

Record Emergency Information

Besides securely saving passwords and account information, individuals going through the estate planning process should also record emergency information for loved ones to access. This information includes locations of valuables and important papers—like legal documents that are difficult to otherwise get copies of—and details about recurring bills. While other emergency information, such as instructions in case of death, are often included in a will, these details tend to be overlooked and not included in other estate planning documents.

Individuals can put this information in a note in a password manager software, in an Excel sheet, or write the details down and keep it in a secure place. Regardless of which option they choose, the person should inform a trusted loved one (or two) where this information is stored, in case they become incapacitated or pass away.

Because planning ahead is critical, individuals who have not secured their digital assets should reach out to an experienced estate planning attorney to help them with this process.

Contact a Colorado Estate Planning Attorney for Immediate Assistance

If you or a loved one needs assistance in developing an estate plan, contact the attorneys at the Braverman Law Group. Our Boulder estate planning attorneys have decades of experience advising clients about their estate plans, crafting and revising plans—including incorporating digital assets into a plan. We are here to answer any questions you may have about estate planning and will ensure you have an estate plan in place that best meets your needs. For a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our estate planning attorneys, give us a call today at (303) 800-1588.