Who can access your digital accounts when you're gone?

Here's a surprise that catches most families: when someone dies, their spouse or executor usually can't just log into their email, bank app, or photos. Privacy laws and the platforms' own rules can lock them out — even with the password.

The U.S. law that fixes this is called RUFADAA. It works — but only if you set things up the right way while you can.

What RUFADAA is

RUFADAA — the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act — is a model law from the Uniform Law Commission that gives your fiduciary (executor, trustee, or an agent under a power of attorney) the right to manage your digital accounts. It's been adopted in nearly every U.S. state — 46 and counting. The main holdouts are Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Oklahoma, and Delaware still uses an earlier version.

How it decides who gets in: the 3-tier priority

• 1. Online tools win. If a platform lets you name someone in advance — Google's Inactive Account Manager, Facebook's Legacy Contact, Apple's Digital Legacy — that choice beats everything else. Set these first; they're free and take minutes.
• 2. Your legal documents come next. If there's no online tool, your will, trust, or power of attorney controls — but only if it explicitly grants authority over your digital assets. Generic documents often don't.
• 3. Terms of Service are the last resort. If you did neither, the platform's own rules apply — and many default to 'no access,' which can strand accounts (and crypto) in limbo.

It's not only about death

RUFADAA also covers incapacity. In many states an agent under your power of attorney can manage your digital life if you're alive but unable to — for example, California's SB-1458 (effective January 1, 2025) expanded access to POA agents and conservators during lifetime incapacity. That's the 'any day you can't' scenario, handled.

It varies by state — so don't guess

The details, and which fiduciaries are covered, differ from state to state, and the law keeps changing. Confirm your state's version with a licensed estate attorney before you rely on it.

Where FamiliaLista fits — and where it doesn't

Let's be clear: FamiliaLista is not a will, and it doesn't grant legal authority — your will and power of attorney do that. What FamiliaLista does is the part those documents can't: it keeps a current, organized inventory of what accounts exist, where the access information and the legal documents are, and your wishes — then delivers it to the people you choose if the day ever comes. The smart combo: (1) set each platform's online tool, (2) have a will or POA that explicitly grants digital access, and (3) keep an organized, up-to-date map your family can actually find. FamiliaLista is #3 — and it reminds you to do #1 and #2.

And it works on day one

A will eventually clears probate — often months later. FamiliaLista hands your family the operational map immediately: which accounts exist, what to pay, who to call, and where the legal documents live. See also: Will vs. life operations manual, and if your family is in Mexico, Digital inheritance in Mexico.

Frequently asked questions

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