RUFADAA is the uniform statute proposed to US state legislatures governing a fiduciary’s access to digital assets. Fiduciaries have difficulty managing and settling estates that included digital assets due to restrictions in the Stored Communications Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and similar laws that prohibit them from accessing digital assets. The Uniform Law Commission (ULC) originally proposed the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (UFADAA) to address this issue by clarifying that fiduciaries would be entitled to access digital assets in the same manner (and subject to the same restrictions) for accessing other types of assets.
Though approved by the ULC, UFADAA faced opposition from digital asset providers and was not adopted. The ULC then worked with these custodians to create the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), which has been passed by a majority of states.
RUFADAA allows fiduciaries to manage digital assets and gives custodians flexibility in restricting or providing access to digital assets. RUFADAA requires that a fiduciary be expressly authorized by the user to receive access to digital assets. For electronic communications, access may be limited to a catalogue of communications (similar to an index) unless the fiduciary’s authorization explicitly includes “content of electronic communications.” Custodians may adopt online tools or terms of service regarding disclosure of digital assets to third parties that supersede and further limit a fiduciary’s authority to access digital assets.
For fiduciaries seeking access to digital assets, custodians may require a written request, a copy of a death certificate, a copy of the document authorizing the fiduciary, a court order, and other documentation. If a custodian decides to grant access to the fiduciary, it may in its sole discretion grant full access, grant partial access sufficient to perform the fiduciary’s required tasks, or provide a copy of all digital assets. Custodians may also charge a reasonable fee for the cost of disclosure. Finally, RUFADAA immunizes custodians from liability for any act or omission done in good faith in compliance with RUFADAA.