How Florida Estate Plans Address Digital Assets, Cryptocurrency, and More

– Insights From Tampa’s Most Trusted Estate Planning Law Firm
Article by managing partner Michelle Garcia Gilbert.

A family loses a loved one and quickly runs into a modern problem. All of the loved one’s photos are in the cloud, there is a cryptocurrency wallet somewhere, and a dozen online accounts are still active. Who is legally allowed to get to any of it? In Florida, the answer depends heavily on the planning done in advance.

Let’s walk through how Florida law treats digital assets, and then, we’ll discuss what you can do now to spare your family the frustration later. For guidance with how to handle your estate planning when you have significant digital assets, please contact our estate planning attorneys today.

What counts as a digital asset?

A digital asset is generally an electronic record in which you have a right or interest. That includes:

• Email and messaging accounts (Gmail, Skype, etc.)
• Social media profiles such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
• Cloud storage and photo libraries
• Online financial and brokerage accounts
• Cryptocurrency and other digital currency
• Loyalty and rewards points, domain names, and online businesses

Take note: The digital record is not always the same as the underlying money or property, and this distinction matters greatly with financial accounts and crypto.

Florida Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act

Florida addresses this modern challenge through the Florida Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, found in Chapter 740 of the Florida Statutes, which took effect on July 1, 2016. The Act allows certain trusted people to manage your digital assets. These include a personal representative (the person a court appoints to administer an estate), a trustee, an agent you name under a power of attorney (a document that authorizes someone to act for you), and a guardian.

Importantly, the Act grants access, not ownership. It lets a fiduciary do electronically what you could have done, but it does not override the rules for transferring the underlying money or property.

Who gets access, and in what order?

Florida follows a clear order of priority:

1. Provider tools: If an online service offers a tool to name who can access your account, your choice there generally controls. Examples include Google’s Inactive Account Manager, Meta’s Legacy Contact for Facebook, and Apple’s Legacy Contact. Availability varies by provider and changes over time, so confirm what each service currently offers.
2. Estate documents: If you have not used a provider tool, directions in your will, trust, or power of attorney can grant authority over your digital assets.
3. Provider’s terms of service: If you leave no instructions, the fine print you agreed to when you signed up controls, and many providers default to denying access.

The lesson is simple: silence usually works against your family. Naming someone and granting explicit authority is what keeps the decision in your hands.

A special note on the content of your online messages

Florida law treats the content of your private communications, such as the actual text of your emails, more protectively than a basic list of your accounts. Granting a fiduciary access to that content generally requires specific, clearly stated authorization. Estate documents that spell this out give your family a much smoother path.

Cryptocurrency deserves extra attention

Crypto is where good intentions often fall apart. Getting into an exchange account is one thing, but cryptocurrency held in a private wallet requires the private key or recovery phrase. If no one can find that key, no court order and no statute can recover the funds. Planning steps that help include:

• Keep a current inventory of what you hold and where
• Store keys and recovery phrases securely, so a trusted person can find with ease
• Keep those secrets out of the will itself, since a will can become a public in probate.

Practical steps to take now

1. Create a written inventory of your important accounts and digital property.
2. Use the online tools your providers offer to name who can access each account.
3. Grant clear digital asset authority in your will, trust, and power of attorney.
4. Store passwords and recovery phrases securely through a reputable password manager or a trusted person who can reach them.
5. Revisit the plan periodically, because your circumstance & the rules both change.

Plan your digital estate with a team that stays current

The attorneys at Gilbert Garcia Group help Tampa Bay families, and families throughout Florida, bring their digital lives into their estate plans. We offer legal support in English or Spanish, so nothing important is lost or locked away. To review your plan, call 813-443-5087 or visit gilbertgrouplaw.com.

This article is for general educational purposes and is not legal advice. Digital asset and estate laws change and apply differently to each situation. Please consult a qualified Florida attorney about your circumstances.