Including Digital Assets in Your New York Estate Plan

You include digital assets in your New York estate plan the same careful way you include a house or a bank account: by making a clear inventory of what you own online, naming a trusted person to manage it, and giving that person legal authority through the core documents that make up a complete plan — your will, your trust(s), your durable power of attorney, and your health care proxy. Digital assets are not a separate, mysterious category that needs exotic paperwork. They are simply property and access rights that your existing documents can reach, as long as you set them up to do so. This guide walks first-time planners through the essentials, in plain language, so you can feel confident that nothing important gets lost when you can no longer manage it yourself.

What Counts as a “Digital Asset”?

If you have never thought about this before, take a breath — the list is broad but manageable. Digital assets generally fall into a few simple buckets:

• Money-like assets: cryptocurrency, online brokerage and bank logins, PayPal/Venmo balances, reward points and airline miles.
• Sentimental assets: photos and videos in cloud storage, email archives, social media accounts and memories.
• Business and income assets: websites, domain names, e-commerce stores, monetized channels, online client files.
• Access keys: passwords, two-factor codes, password-manager vaults, and recovery information that unlock everything else.

The last bucket is the one most people forget — and it is the most important. A fortune in crypto or a lifetime of family photos is useless to your loved ones if no one can get past the login screen. Good digital planning is really about handing over the keys in a safe, legal way.

The Four Documents That Hold It All Together

In New York, a comprehensive estate plan coordinates four documents. Each one touches your digital life differently.

Document	NY Authority	What It Does for Digital Assets
Will	EPTL §3-2.1	Directs who inherits digital property at death and can name a fiduciary to handle online accounts.
Trust	EPTL Article 7	A revocable living trust can hold digital assets and pass them outside probate; an irrevocable trust adds protection.
Durable Power of Attorney	GOL §5-1513	Lets a trusted agent manage your digital and financial accounts while you are alive but incapacitated.
Health Care Proxy	NY Public Health Law Article 29-C	Appoints an agent for medical decisions — separate from finances, but part of a coordinated plan.

Notice how the durable power of attorney does the heavy lifting during your lifetime, while the will and trust take over at death. That hand-off is exactly why these documents must be drafted to work together, not in isolation.

Your Will and Digital Assets

Under EPTL §3-2.1, a valid New York will must be signed by you at the end of the document, witnessed by two attesting witnesses, and published (you declare it to be your will). A properly drafted will can name a fiduciary and grant them authority to access, manage, and distribute your digital property. If you die without a will, intestacy under EPTL Article 4 decides who inherits — and the law gives no special instructions for your online life, leaving your family to untangle it. For digital assets especially, having a will is far better than letting the default rules apply.

Your Trust and Digital Assets

A revocable living trust under EPTL Article 7 lets you place assets — including digital ones — into a structure that avoids probate, so your successor trustee can step in quickly and privately. Keep in mind: a revocable trust offers no estate-tax savings. An irrevocable trust is the tool used for tax reduction, asset protection, and Medicaid planning (subject to the 5-year look-back), and a Supplemental Needs Trust under EPTL 7-1.12 preserves benefits for a loved one with disabilities.

Your Power of Attorney and Digital Assets

A New York durable power of attorney (GOL §5-1513) is durable by default, meaning it stays effective if you become incapacitated. The 2021 statutory short form is the modern standard. This is the document that allows your agent to log in, pay bills, manage crypto, or close an account if you are alive but unable to act. Without it, even your spouse may be locked out.

Your Health Care Proxy

Your health care proxy (NY Public Health Law Article 29-C) appoints an agent for medical decisions only. It does not control money or logins — that is the POA’s job — but it belongs in every coordinated plan so your wishes are honored across the board.

A Simple Digital-Asset Checklist for First-Timers

You do not need to be tech-savvy to do this well. Work through these essentials:

1. Inventory. List your accounts by category — money, sentimental, business, access keys.
2. Secure the keys. Use a reputable password manager so one master credential unlocks the rest.
3. Name people. Decide who handles digital matters in your POA (during life) and your will/trust (at death).
4. Grant authority in writing. Make sure your documents explicitly authorize digital access — vague language can stall account providers.
5. Leave instructions. Note which accounts to memorialize, close, or transfer.
6. Update annually. Your digital life changes fast; review the list each year.

A quick word of caution: never paste passwords directly into your will. A will becomes a public document in probate. Reference a securely stored credential location instead.

Where Does Estate Tax Fit In?

Most first-time planners worry about tax, so here is the reassuring part: for 2026, New York’s estate-tax basic exclusion is $7,350,000 (for deaths on or after January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026). Estates below that owe no New York estate tax. Be aware of the “cliff”: at 105% of the exclusion — $7,717,500 — an estate loses the entire exemption and is taxed from the first dollar, at progressive rates of 3% to 16%. New York has no gift tax, but gifts made within three years of death are added back to the taxable estate. Most digital assets (photos, social accounts) carry little taxable value, but large crypto holdings can change the math — another reason coordinated planning matters. Learn more on our NY estate tax guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a separate “digital will” in New York?
No. New York does not require a stand-alone digital will. Your standard will and durable power of attorney, drafted with proper digital-access language, are sufficient. Adding a separate document can even create conflicts.

Can my executor access my email and social media?
Yes, if your will grants fiduciary authority over digital accounts and you have left access information securely. Many providers also offer legacy-contact or memorialization tools you should set up in advance.

What happens to my cryptocurrency if I die without a plan?
If no one has the private keys or seed phrase, the crypto may be permanently lost — courts cannot recover what cannot be accessed. Documenting secure access for your fiduciary is essential.

Does a power of attorney help with digital assets if I’m still alive?
Yes. The durable POA under GOL §5-1513 lets your agent manage your online and financial accounts while you are incapacitated but living — something a will cannot do.

Talk to Morgan Legal Group

Including your digital life in your estate plan is one of the simplest, highest-impact steps a first-time planner can take — and you do not have to figure it out alone. For a complete picture, start with our estate planning overview and our New York statewide guide. When you are ready, Russel Morgan, Esq. and the team at Morgan Legal Group will help you build a coordinated plan that protects your accounts, your memories, and your family across all of New York.

Schedule your consultation today: https://calendly.com/russel-morgan/30min