Stacy Singer of Northern Trust and Fred Weber of Kirkland & Ellis wrote this important Trusts & Estates article on WealthManagement.com back in April 20, 2021, which is still a must-read for fiduciaries and professionals in the trust and estate planning industry and anyone in the digital asset industry. These highly-regarded experts make it clear that any planning solution for digital assets requires both an ACCESS solution and an AUTHORITY solution.
These trust and estate planning lawyers make it clear that federal criminal statutes prohibit “intentional access to a computer ‘without authorization’ or in a manner that ‘exceeds authorization’” and “could potentially be used to prosecute a fiduciary who accesses a deceased user’s account even though access to the account may be necessary for the fiduciary to carry out its duties.” They also provide six suggestions for additional estate planning preparation after basic RUFADAA planning.