When someone dies, their digital assets form part of their estate to the extent that those assets have monetary value and can legally be transferred. The person administering the estate, usually the executor named in the will, is responsible for identifying them, valuing them, and dealing with them alongside the rest of the estate.
In practice a "digital asset" covers a wide range of things: email and social media accounts, photo and video libraries, cryptocurrency, online payment balances, domain names, loyalty points, and files stored in the cloud. Some of these carry real financial value and pass to the beneficiaries. Others are personal accounts that hold sentimental rather than financial value, and access to them is governed by each provider's own terms rather than by a single UK law. This guide explains the distinction and sets out the practical steps. Figures are current as at August 2026 and are subject to change.
What happens to digital assets when you die?
Digital assets are treated in two broad ways. Anything owned that has value, such as cryptocurrency, a monetised online business, credit in a payment account, or a domain name, is part of the estate and passes under the will (or under the intestacy rules if there is no will). Personal accounts such as email, social media and streaming libraries are usually held under a licence between the account holder and the provider, and what can be done with them after death depends on that provider's terms and any legacy tools it offers.
There is no single register of a person's digital life, which is the main practical difficulty. Executors can only deal with what they can find, so a clear record left by the account holder makes a considerable difference to how smoothly an estate is administered.
What counts as a digital asset
It helps to separate digital assets by what happens to them, because that drives both their tax treatment and the practical steps involved.
| Type of asset | Typical treatment on death |
|---|---|
| Cryptocurrency, tokens, NFTs | Property with value; part of the estate and reportable for inheritance tax |
| Online payment balances (for example PayPal) | A money balance owed to the estate; claimed by the executor |
| Domain names, monetised websites, online shops | Assets with value; transferable and part of the estate |
| Photo, video and document libraries in the cloud | Usually sentimental; access depends on the provider's terms |
| Email and social media accounts | Licensed personal accounts; closed, memorialised or transferred under provider policy |
| Music, film and e-book libraries | Often a personal licence that ends on death, not an owned asset |
| Loyalty points and air miles | Governed by scheme rules; may or may not transfer |
Owned assets and licensed accounts are different
The distinction that catches families out most often is between assets a person owns and content they have only licensed. A cryptocurrency holding is owned property, so it passes to beneficiaries and counts towards the estate for inheritance tax. A large music or e-book library, by contrast, is frequently a personal, non-transferable licence under the platform's terms, which means the collection itself may not pass to anyone even though money was spent building it. Reading each provider's terms is the only reliable way to know which category a given account falls into.
Owning the money spent on a digital library is not the same as owning the library. The terms of service decide which one it is.
Dealing with digital assets as an executor
An executor's duties for digital assets mirror their duties for physical ones: find them, value them, secure them, and either transfer or close them. Practical steps that tend to help include the following.
- Locate accounts. Check paperwork, emails and any list the person left. Do not attempt to guess passwords, as unauthorised access to an account can be a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (legislation.gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).
- Value what has worth. Cryptocurrency, payment balances and monetised assets are valued at the date of death for probate and inheritance tax (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).
- Apply for probate where needed. A grant of probate is often required before providers will release funds or transfer valuable assets. The application fee is £526 where the estate is over £5,000 (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).
- Contact each provider. Most platforms have a bereavement or deceased-account process and will ask for a death certificate and, sometimes, the grant of probate.
Data protection law does not stand in the way here in the usual sense: the UK GDPR "does not apply to the personal data of deceased persons", so it applies only to living individuals (ICO, as at August 2026, subject to change). The barrier to access is usually the provider's own contract terms, not data protection rules.
Cryptocurrency and inheritance tax
Cryptocurrency is treated as property, so it is part of the estate and its value at the date of death is included when working out inheritance tax. The standard inheritance tax rate is 40%, charged only on the part of an estate above the available tax-free thresholds, with the nil-rate band at £325,000 (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change). These thresholds are frozen until 5 April 2031, the end of the 2030-31 tax year, following the one-year extension announced at Autumn Budget 2025 (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).
The practical risk with cryptocurrency is not tax but access. If no one else knows the private keys or recovery phrase, the holding can be permanently lost, because there is no provider who can reset it. A secure record of how to access it, kept separately from the will, is what makes the difference between an asset the family can claim and one that disappears.
Planning ahead for your digital estate
A short amount of preparation removes most of the difficulty for the people left behind. Approaches that families commonly use include the following.
- Keep a private inventory of significant accounts and assets, updated as things change, and stored securely rather than inside the will itself, which becomes a public document once probate is granted.
- Record how valuable assets such as cryptocurrency can be accessed, without writing login details into the will.
- Set up the legacy or nominated-contact features that platforms offer during your lifetime.
- Make sure a will names an executor and, where appropriate, expresses wishes about digital accounts and content.
A lasting power of attorney is worth separating from this. It lets someone act for a person who has lost mental capacity during their lifetime, and it ends on death, so it deals with a different situation from a will. Registering one with the Office of the Public Guardian costs £92 per document (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change). Digital assets can sit within a wider estate plan alongside a will and any inheritance tax planning, and where valuable assets are involved a clear plan tends to reduce delay at probate.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
This guide describes the position in England and Wales. Scotland has its own succession law and uses confirmation rather than a grant of probate, and its court fees and procedures differ. Northern Ireland has a separate but broadly similar system to England and Wales. The way individual platforms handle deceased accounts is set by the provider and generally applies across the UK, but the estate administration process differs by nation, so it can be worth checking the rules that apply where the person lived.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to digital assets after death in the UK?
Digital assets with monetary value, such as cryptocurrency, payment balances and domain names, form part of the estate and pass under the will or the intestacy rules. Personal accounts such as email and social media are governed by each provider's terms, which may allow them to be closed, memorialised or transferred. The executor is responsible for identifying and dealing with both. This is general information and is subject to change.
Can executors access a deceased person's online accounts?
Access depends on the provider rather than on a single law. Most large platforms have a bereavement process and may ask for a death certificate and sometimes a grant of probate. Attempting to log in using the person's own credentials can breach the Computer Misuse Act 1990, so the provider's official route is the safer path (legislation.gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).
Is cryptocurrency subject to inheritance tax?
Yes. Cryptocurrency is treated as property, so its value at the date of death counts towards the estate. Inheritance tax is charged at 40% on the part of an estate above the available thresholds, with the nil-rate band at £325,000 (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change). Whether any tax is due depends on the whole estate.
Should I put my passwords in my will?
Login details are generally kept out of a will, because a will becomes a public document once probate is granted (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change). Many people instead keep a secure, separate record of significant accounts and how valuable assets can be accessed, and update it as things change. This is general information rather than advice for any individual.
What is a legacy contact?
A legacy contact is someone a person nominates in advance to manage or access an account after death, using a feature the platform provides. Apple, Google, Facebook and Instagram each offer their own version, set up by the account holder during their lifetime, and each has its own rules. The details change over time, so it is worth checking directly with the provider.
Do digital assets need to go through probate?
Valuable digital assets are included in the estate and may need a grant of probate before providers will release or transfer them. The probate application fee is £526 where the estate is worth over £5,000, and there is no fee at or below that figure (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change). Purely personal accounts with no financial value are usually handled directly with each provider.