What Happens to Digital Assets When You Die?

The problem with digital assets

Physical property is straightforward to pass on. Digital assets are not. Many people have significant value stored online — in investment accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, photo libraries, domain names, or content platforms — and have made no provision for any of it.

The law in England and Wales is still catching up. Here is the practical picture.

What counts as a digital asset

The broad categories worth thinking about:

Financial accounts: online savings accounts, PayPal balances, investment platforms, and cryptocurrency holdings. These have real monetary value and need explicit attention in your will.

Content and creative work: self-published books, stock photo libraries, YouTube channels, domain names, and websites you own. These may generate income or have sale value.

Stored media: photos and videos in iCloud, Google Photos, or similar services. Most are not transferable under the platform's terms of service, but they can often be downloaded by your executor if they have access.

Social media profiles: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn. Most platforms offer a memorialisation option or allow a nominated legacy contact to manage or close the account.

Subscription services: streaming platforms, cloud storage, software licences. These terminate on death and have no transfer value.

Can you leave digital assets in your will?

You can leave instructions in your will about digital assets, and for some — particularly financial accounts and cryptocurrency — you should. Your executor has the legal authority to deal with your estate, which includes online financial accounts.

The practical problem is access. Your executor cannot act on accounts they cannot get into. A will does not contain login credentials, and it should not: your will becomes a public document after probate is granted.

The right way to handle access

Write a separate document — sometimes called a digital legacy letter or a memorandum of wishes for digital assets — that lists your accounts, how to access them, and what you want done with each. Store it securely with your will but not as part of it. Update it regularly as passwords change.

This document might include:

• email account login (so your executor can communicate with financial institutions)
• password manager master password or instructions
• cryptocurrency wallet seed phrases or hardware wallet location
• instructions for social media accounts

Do not put passwords in your will itself.

Cryptocurrency is a special case

Cryptocurrency held in a self-custody wallet (where you control the private keys) cannot be accessed without the seed phrase. If your executor cannot find it, the funds are permanently lost. No court order will help. The blockchain has no customer service.

If you hold cryptocurrency, your digital legacy document needs to include either the seed phrase or instructions for where to find it. This document needs to be kept as securely as the crypto itself.

Cryptocurrency held on an exchange (like Coinbase or Kraken) is handled differently. Your executor contacts the exchange, provides a death certificate and grant of probate, and follows their inheritance process. It is slower, but the funds are not at risk of being permanently lost.

What to do now

Include a general clause in your will directing your executor to deal with your digital assets according to your wishes and any memorandum you have left. Then write that memorandum, keep it updated, and make sure at least one trusted person knows it exists and where to find it.

PureWill's will form includes a section for additional wishes, which is the right place to note that a digital legacy document exists.