Digital Assets Planning in Tennessee: Protect Your Online Life

Do you bank on your phone, store family photos in the cloud, or trade crypto after work? Most of us do at least one of these, yet few have set a plan for those accounts if something happens. Without clear instructions, loved ones may face locked screens, lost revenue, and privacy headaches. Proper digital-asset planning turns unknowns into a clear roadmap.

Why Your Online Footprint Belongs in an Estate Plan

A growing slice of personal wealth sits behind passwords instead of bank vaults. Social media, email archives, game inventories, and reward points carry sentimental or financial worth. If access dies with the owner, heirs can lose irreplaceable memories or steady income streams.

Here are just a few ways unmanaged digital assets cause trouble:

• Streaming accounts keep billing because nobody finds the auto-pay notice buried in their email.
• A popular blog with ad revenue goes dark, cutting off passive income to children.
• Family photos stored in the cloud become unreachable when the provider deletes the inactive account.

By addressing these risks on paper, you give your fiduciary clear legal standing and your family clarity during a hard time.

Tennessee Law on Fiduciary Access

Before 2016, service-provider terms often overrode any personal wish for data access. Tennessee fixed much of that gap by adopting the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, found at Tenn. Code § 35-8-101 through § 35-8-118. Often shortened to TRUFADAA, the act lays out a three-layer guide for custodians deciding whether to release information.

The Three-Layer Consent System

The act gives priority to:

1. An online tool offered by the custodian (for example, Facebook Legacy Contact or Google Inactive Account Manager).
2. Your written instructions in a will, trust, or power of attorney.
3. The default terms-of-service agreement applies if the first two layers are silent.

This order means the choice you click inside an account outranks even your will, so it pays to review those settings while you are healthy.

Scope of Access Granted

TRUFADAA draws a line between two kinds of information.

• The catalog lists with whom you communicated, plus time stamps.
• The content shows the words, photos, or files you exchanged.

Without your explicit consent, a fiduciary usually receives only the catalog. To give them content rights, it is essential to spell it out in your estate documents or through the online tool.

Steps to Fold Digital Assets Into Your Plan

Having the law on your side is only half the job. You still need practical steps that turn theory into action.

1. Create a Master Inventory

List every online account, even if it seems trivial. Include:

• Web address or app name
• User ID or email used for login
• Location of the current password (never put passwords directly in the will, which becomes public)
• Rough value or sentimental note

Store the list in a secure yet discoverable spot, such as an encrypted password manager with emergency access features, a safe deposit box, or a locked home safe. Tell your fiduciary how to retrieve it.

2. Update Estate Documents

Your will, revocable trust, and financial power of attorney should grant authority over digital assets by name. Simple phrases like “all personal property, including electronic records and accounts,” may leave gaps. We draft language that mirrors TRUFADAA wording so custodians cannot claim an ambiguity.

3. Check Each Platform’s Legacy Options

Spend twenty minutes clicking through settings on major accounts. Set a legacy contact, choose data download options, or instruct deletion where you prefer privacy. These clicks carry the highest legal weight, so they are worth the short investment of time.

4. Back Up Irreplaceable Files

Even with solid legal rights, delays can occur when providers verify documents. A local backup of photos, manuscripts, or home videos spares the family from bureaucracy.

Choosing and Preparing Your Fiduciary

The person managing digital accounts needs more tech comfort than the average personal representative. A sibling who barely checks email may struggle, while a niece who handles IT at work could breeze through the tasks. Skill, not age, should guide your pick.

Once selected, help that person by providing:

• A walkthrough of your inventory approach.
• An explanation of income-producing sites or crypto wallets.
• Clear wishes about what should be deleted, memorialized, or transferred.

Special Note on Cryptocurrency and NFTs

Digital coins and tokens differ from typical online accounts. They rely on private keys stored in hardware devices, written seed phrases, or exchange wallets. If those keys are lost, no court order can force recovery. Planning tips include:

1. Keep seed phrases in a fireproof location known to the fiduciary.
2. Document each exchange and any two-factor authentication method.
3. Track cost basis for tax filing, since fiduciaries must report capital gains on a later sale.

Quick Reference Table

Common Missteps and How to Avoid Them

No plan is perfect, yet most mistakes circle the same traps.

• Ignoring small accounts. Even a forgotten PayPal balance needs a beneficiary.
• Leaving a password list in plain sight. This risks theft during life and breaks the client’s privacy duties after death.
• Using one executor for everything. If the primary choice lacks tech skills, consider naming a co-executor focused on digital work.
• Storing crypto keys only online. A single hacked email can empty a wallet overnight. Keep an offline backup.

Putting It All Together

Digital-asset planning blends legal language with practical tech steps. The law gives your fiduciary a legal key, while your inventory and backups are the physical key. Both are needed for a smooth transition.

Ready to lock in peace of mind? Pick a quiet evening, open your password manager, and start that inventory list. Those few hours today could save your family months of stress.

Questions often pop up once you get started. Call us at (865) 203-4041, email contact@foustlaw.com, or send a quick note through our website. We’ll walk through your goals, draft plain-language instructions, and keep your online life safe for the next generation.