Key Takeaways

• California follows RUFADAA — the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act — which governs whether an executor or trustee can access a deceased person’s digital accounts.
• The deceased person’s own choices control first: an online tool the provider offers (like a legacy contact), then their estate plan, then the provider’s terms of service.
• Fiduciaries can more readily get a catalogue of communications (who, when) than the content (the actual messages), which has extra protection.
• Without planning, accessing accounts can be slow and limited — providers require specific documentation.
• Planning ahead — using legacy tools and addressing digital assets in your estate plan — makes all the difference.

The Modern Problem: A Life Lived Online

A generation ago, settling an estate meant dealing with paper: bank statements, deeds, a box of documents. Today, much of a person’s financial and personal life lives online — email, photos, social media, cloud storage, cryptocurrency, online bank and brokerage accounts, subscriptions, domain names, even loyalty points. When someone dies, their executor often needs to access these digital assets to settle the estate. But online accounts come with passwords, privacy protections, and provider terms that don’t simply yield to a death certificate.

California addresses this through a law called RUFADAA — the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. It sets the rules for when a personal representative, trustee, agent, or conservator can access someone’s digital assets, balancing the practical need to administer an estate against the deceased person’s privacy.

How RUFADAA Decides Access

RUFADAA uses a clear hierarchy to determine who can access digital assets and how. In order of priority:

1. The provider’s online tool. If the online service offers a specific tool letting users name who can access or manage the account after death — think of a “legacy contact” or an inactive-account manager — and the person used it, that choice controls. It overrides everything else, including a will.
2. The person’s estate planning documents. If there’s no online tool (or it wasn’t used), the person’s will, trust, or power of attorney can grant or restrict a fiduciary’s access to digital assets. This is why addressing digital assets explicitly in an estate plan matters.
3. The provider’s terms of service. If neither of the above applies, the terms-of-service agreement the person clicked “agree” to governs — which often defaults to limiting access.

The lesson is built into the order: the more the person planned ahead — using a legacy tool, addressing digital assets in their documents — the more control passes to the people they chose. Absent planning, the provider’s terms (often restrictive) can control by default.

Catalogue vs. Content

RUFADAA draws an important line between two kinds of digital information:

• The catalogue of electronic communications — essentially the metadata: who the person communicated with, and when, but not what was said.
• The content of communications — the actual text of emails, messages, and similar private communications.

A fiduciary can generally obtain the catalogue more readily. The content gets heightened protection: a provider generally won’t disclose the actual contents of private communications unless the person consented — through an online tool, or through their estate plan with the right language — or a court orders it. So an executor might be able to learn that the deceased had an account and corresponded with a bank, but accessing the contents of private emails is a higher bar.

This distinction trips people up. Access to digital assets isn’t all-or-nothing, and the most private material — the actual messages — is the hardest to reach without explicit prior consent.

Trying to access a loved one’s online accounts to settle their estate? RUFADAA’s rules and the providers’ requirements can be a maze. Bay Legal can help you navigate them.

For guidance on your specific situation, call (650) 668-8000 or schedule a consultation at baylegal.com/contact.

What an Executor Actually Has to Do

In practice, getting access means dealing with each provider’s process, which RUFADAA backs but doesn’t make instant:

• Identify the accounts — often itself a challenge without a list, since everything is password-protected and paperless.
• Check for an online legacy tool the person may have set up.
• Gather documentation — providers typically require a copy of the death certificate, the Letters proving the fiduciary’s authority, and often a specific request citing RUFADAA, sometimes with a court order for content.
• Submit the request through the provider’s channel and wait — responses can be slow, and providers scrutinize these requests carefully given the privacy stakes.

It’s doable, but it’s rarely quick, and for some content it may require going to court. The difficulty scales inversely with how much the person planned.

The Real Solution Is Planning

Almost every digital-access headache traces back to a lack of planning. The fixes are straightforward if done in advance:

• Use providers’ legacy tools — name a legacy contact where the service offers one.
• Address digital assets in your estate plan — give your fiduciary explicit authority over digital assets, including content where you want that.
• Keep an inventory of important accounts (stored securely, not a plain list of passwords in a drawer), so your fiduciary knows what exists.
• Don’t put passwords in your will — a will becomes a public record in probate.

A little planning converts a frustrating, court-involved scramble into a smooth handoff — which is exactly the kind of thing worth raising when you set up or update an estate plan.

Planning your own estate and want your digital life handled smoothly? Addressing digital assets now spares your family real frustration later.

For guidance on your specific situation, call (650) 668-8000 or schedule a consultation at baylegal.com/contact.

How This Fits With the Rest of Probate

Digital-asset access is part of the representative’s job of gathering the estate, and it depends on the Letters proving their authority. Planning for digital assets connects to avoiding probate and building a complete estate plan. For the full process, see our complete guide to California probate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an executor access a deceased person’s email in California?

Sometimes, but not automatically. Under RUFADAA, access depends first on any online legacy tool the person used, then their estate plan, then the provider’s terms. The actual content of private communications has heightened protection and may require explicit consent or a court order.

What is RUFADAA?

It’s the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, California’s law governing when a fiduciary — executor, trustee, agent, or conservator — can access someone’s digital assets after death or incapacity.

What’s the difference between catalogue and content under RUFADAA?

The catalogue is metadata — who communicated with whom and when. The content is the actual message text. Fiduciaries can generally get the catalogue more readily; content has extra protection and usually requires the person’s consent or a court order.

How does an executor get access to online accounts?

By identifying the accounts, checking for any legacy tool, gathering documentation (death certificate, Letters, a RUFADAA request, sometimes a court order), and submitting it through each provider’s process. It’s often slow.

How do I make my digital assets easy for my family to handle?

Use providers’ legacy tools, give your fiduciary explicit authority over digital assets in your estate plan, keep a secure inventory of accounts, and don’t put passwords in your will (which becomes public in probate).