Estate
Digital assets after death: email, photos and online accounts
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Last reviewed Oct 31, 2026.
Quick answerAll five of our pilot states have adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (Florida calls its version the Florida Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act). If the person used a company’s own tool, like Apple’s Legacy Contact or Google’s Inactive Account Manager, that choice usually controls. Otherwise an executor can get a list of the person’s emails and other digital records with a death certificate and court papers, but the content of messages generally requires the person’s consent in a will, trust or similar document, or a court order. Companies have 60 days to comply after getting everything they need.
Step by step
- Don’t log in as the person. The law says a fiduciary’s authority can’t be used to impersonate the user.
- Check for a company tool. A direction set up in a company’s online tool overrides a different instruction in a will or trust, if the tool lets the user change or delete it at any time.
- Check the will, trust and power of attorney for language about digital assets or electronic communications.
- Get your authority: letters from the probate court, or in some states a small-estate affidavit or summary order (table below).
- Send a written request to the company with a certified death certificate and your court papers. It may also ask for the account username or proof linking the account to the person.
- Wait up to 60 days. If the company doesn’t comply, you can ask the court for an order.
- Close accounts you don’t need, with a written request, death certificate and proof of authority.
What you can getState law
| What | What the executor needs |
|---|---|
| Catalogue of emails and messages (who, when, addresses) and other digital assets, such as files and photos stored online | Written request, certified death certificate, and letters or court order. Available unless the person prohibited it or a court says otherwise. The company may also ask for an affidavit that disclosure is reasonably necessary for the estate. |
| Content of emails and messages | The same, plus a copy of the will, trust, power of attorney or other record showing the person consented, unless they consented through the company’s online tool. Or a court order. |
| Closing an account | Written request, certified death certificate, and proof of authority. |
Companies can give full access, partial access or copies, may charge a reasonable fee, and don’t have to restore items the user deleted. The law doesn’t give you more rights than the user had under the company’s terms.
Pilot statesState law
| State | Law | Proof of authority for an estate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | RSA ch. 554-A | Certified copy of the letter of appointment or court order | 60 days to comply. |
| California | Probate Code §§ 870–884 | Letters, a small-estate affidavit under § 13101, or a court order | A small-estate affiant can also ask to close accounts. The law doesn’t require a company to share passwords or decrypt devices. 60 days to comply. |
| Texas | Estates Code ch. 2001 | Letters, a small estate affidavit filed under § 205.001, or another court order | 60 days to comply. Trustees can get access to trust accounts with a certification of trust. |
| Florida | Fla. Stat. ch. 740 | Letters of administration, a curator or administrator ad litem order, a summary administration order, or another court order | 60 days to comply. |
| Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code ch. 2137 | Letter of appointment, a commissioner entry, or an entry granting summary release from administration | 60 days to comply. If a court orders compliance and the company ignores it, the court must impose daily civil penalties. If the user was under 18 and a parent or guardian asks, the court must rule within 30 days. |
- Online tool priority, content and catalogue rules, fiduciary duties, no impersonation, 60 days. Source: N.H. RSA ch. 554-A, checked Oct 31, 2026.
- California RUFADAA, small-estate affidavit, no duty to share passwords, 60 days. Source: Cal. Prob. Code §§ 870–884, checked Oct 31, 2026.
- Texas RUFADAA, small estate affidavit, trusts, 60 days. Source: Tex. Estates Code ch. 2001, checked Oct 31, 2026.
- Online tool priority. Source: Fla. Stat. § 740.003, checked Oct 31, 2026.
- Content of a deceased user’s communications; summary administration order. Source: Fla. Stat. § 740.006, checked Oct 31, 2026.
- Fiduciary duty, no impersonation, closing accounts. Source: Fla. Stat. § 740.05, checked Oct 31, 2026.
- 60 days to comply. Source: Fla. Stat. § 740.06, checked Oct 31, 2026.
- Content disclosure; Ohio proof of authority. Source: Ohio Rev. Code § 2137.06, checked Oct 31, 2026.
- 60 days, minors, civil penalties. Source: Ohio Rev. Code § 2137.15, checked Oct 31, 2026.
Company tools to set up now
- Apple Legacy Contact: lets someone you choose request access to data such as photos, messages, notes, files and device backups after your death. They need the access key you generate and your death certificate. It doesn’t include purchased movies, music or books, or passwords stored in iCloud Keychain.
- Google Inactive Account Manager: lets you choose up to 10 people to receive some or all of your account data if your account is inactive for a period you set.
- What a Legacy Contact can and can’t access; access key plus death certificate. Source: Apple Support – Legacy Contact, checked Oct 31, 2026.
- Up to 10 people; triggered by inactivity. Source: Google Account Help – Inactive Account Manager, checked Oct 31, 2026.
Add digital accounts to your estate planning checklist.
Related: Finding a loved one’s assets · Executor checklist
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