Your digital assets after death, from cryptocurrency and online banking to email, photos and social media, form part of your estate in England and Wales. Since the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025, many are confirmed as personal property that can be inherited. The harder problem is access: your executor still needs the credentials and the legal authority to reach them, and the law does not hand those over on its own.
What counts as a digital asset?
A digital asset is anything of financial or sentimental value that you own or hold in digital form. In England and Wales this ranges from cryptocurrency, PayPal balances and domain names to email accounts, cloud photos, social media profiles and loyalty points. Some you own outright and can pass on. Others you only licence, and they end when you die.
The distinction below decides what your executor can actually inherit, so it is worth reading before you list anything in a will.
| Type of digital asset | Examples | Can it pass to your estate? |
|---|---|---|
| Cryptocurrency and NFTs | Bitcoin, Ethereum, tokens in wallets or on exchanges | Yes, but only if the keys or account access can be found |
| Money accounts | PayPal, online bank balances, e-money wallets | Yes, treated as part of the estate |
| Domains and monetised content | Website domain names, a monetised channel or blog | Often, these can usually be transferred or sold |
| Digital media libraries | Kindle e-books, iTunes films, Steam games | Usually not, these are a personal licence that ends on death |
| Email and cloud storage | Gmail, Outlook, iCloud photos and files | The data may be released to an executor, the account itself is not owned |
| Social media | Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn | No, these are memorialised or closed, not inherited |
| Loyalty and subscriptions | Airline miles, Netflix, Spotify | Usually not, most are cancelled on death under their terms |
General position for England and Wales, based on common platform terms of service, as at August 2026. Individual terms vary and change.
What happens to your digital assets when you die?
When you die, your digital assets that count as property fall into your estate and pass under your will or the intestacy rules, the same as your other belongings. The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025, which came into force on 2 December 2025, confirmed that a thing can be personal property even if it is neither a physical object nor a right to be enforced, creating a "third category" that crypto-tokens and similar assets can sit in (legislation.gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).
That settles ownership. It does not settle access, which is where most families get stuck. Two things stand in the way, and neither was changed by the Act:
- Terms of service. Many accounts are personal to you and cannot be transferred. Licensed content, such as e-books and downloaded films, often ends on death rather than passing to your heirs.
- The Computer Misuse Act 1990. Logging into someone's account without authority can be a criminal offence, even a deceased relative's, so an executor cannot simply guess a password and sign in (legislation.gov.uk).
The result is a gap. A digital asset can belong to your estate in law while your executor still has no lawful, practical way in. Closing that gap is a planning job, not something the law does for you. Planning it alongside your will tends to work better than treating it as an afterthought.
What does each platform allow after death?
Most large platforms now offer a legacy setting you can switch on while you are alive, which is far easier than your family arguing with support staff later. The tools differ in what they actually grant, so it helps to set the important ones up in advance rather than assume access.
| Platform | Legacy tool | What it lets your family do |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | Legacy Contact (iOS 15.2 and later) | A named person receives an access key to your iCloud data and photos after death |
| Inactive Account Manager | Pre-set who receives your data after a chosen period of inactivity, or have it deleted | |
| Legacy Contact and memorialisation | Memorialise or delete the account, a legacy contact manages the memorial page | |
| Memorialisation | Memorialise or remove the account on proof of death | |
| Microsoft | Next of kin process | May release the contents of an account to next of kin, there is no pre-set contact |
| X (Twitter) | Deactivation only | Family can request removal, but cannot gain access to the content |
| Memorialise or close | Request that the profile is memorialised or removed |
Platform features as published by each provider, as at August 2026. Providers change these tools, so check the current settings.
What happens to cryptocurrency when you die?
Cryptocurrency passes to your estate like other property, but only if your executor can reach it, which makes it the hardest digital asset to inherit. Crypto held in a private wallet is controlled by a private key or a seed phrase of typically 12 to 24 words. Without that phrase, there is no bank or provider that can reset access, and the holding is generally lost for good.
Coins held on an exchange, such as Coinbase or Kraken, are usually recoverable through the exchange's estate process once your executor produces the grant of probate and identity documents. Self-custody wallets, such as a Ledger or Trezor device, depend entirely on the seed phrase being findable.
Crypto also counts for inheritance tax and must be valued at the date of death in pounds sterling and reported to HMRC (gov.uk cryptoassets guidance, as at August 2026, subject to change). The safest approach is to record where each wallet or account is held, and store the recovery details separately and securely, never inside the will itself.
Why you should never put passwords in your will
Writing passwords, PINs or crypto seed phrases into your will is one of the most common and most costly mistakes people make with digital assets. A will becomes a public document once probate is granted, so anyone can order a copy, and any credentials inside it are exposed to fraud. Passwords also change, so a will written today is often out of date within months.
What the real process looks like is a clean separation of two things:
- Legal authority goes in the will. Name your executor and, where helpful, add a clause referring to your digital assets and your wish for them to be dealt with. This grants the power to act, without listing any secrets.
- Access credentials are stored separately. Keep logins and recovery phrases in a password manager with an emergency-access feature, or in a sealed letter of wishes kept with your will but not part of it, and tell your executor where to find it.
This keeps the authority public and provable while keeping the keys private. It is the same principle a lasting power of attorney uses for decisions made during your lifetime: the authority is on record, the sensitive detail is not.
How to make a digital legacy plan
A digital legacy plan is a short, practical set of steps that lets your executor find, value and deal with your online life without hunting or guessing. It sits alongside your will rather than replacing it, and it takes most people an afternoon to put together.
- Make an inventory. List your accounts and digital assets by category, where each is held, and roughly what it is worth. Record locations and account names, not passwords.
- Decide who should handle it. Choose a digital executor, the person who is comfortable with the technology, which can be the same person as your main executor or someone helping them.
- Store access securely. Put logins and recovery phrases in a password manager with emergency access, or a sealed letter of wishes, kept apart from the will.
- Switch on the platform tools. Set up Apple Legacy Contact, Google Inactive Account Manager and a Facebook legacy contact while you can.
- Add a digital assets clause to your will. Have your will refer to your digital assets and to where your access instructions are kept.
- Review it regularly. Accounts and passwords change, so revisit the plan every year or two and after any major life event.
Are digital assets subject to inheritance tax?
Yes. Digital assets that count as property, including cryptocurrency, a PayPal balance and valuable domains, form part of your estate for inheritance tax and must be valued and reported to HMRC. Inheritance tax is charged at 40% on the part of an estate above the available tax-free thresholds, or 36% where at least 10% of the estate passes to charity (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).
| Allowance or rate | Level (August 2026) |
|---|---|
| Nil-rate band | £325,000 |
| Residence nil-rate band | Up to £175,000 |
| Standard rate | 40% |
| Reduced rate (10%+ to charity) | 36% |
Source: gov.uk/inheritance-tax. These thresholds are frozen until 5 April 2031, the end of the 2030-31 tax year (extended at the Budget on 26 November 2025), subject to change. Crypto is valued at the date of death, per gov.uk cryptoassets guidance. See our inheritance tax guide for how the bands combine.
Frequently asked questions
Can I leave my online accounts to someone in my will?
Some, not all. Assets you own, such as cryptocurrency, a PayPal balance or a domain, can pass under your will. Most social media, email and streaming accounts are personal licences under their terms of service and cannot be inherited, though a platform may release data or memorialise the account.
Should I write my passwords in my will?
No. A will becomes public once probate is granted, so any passwords or crypto seed phrases inside it are exposed, and they usually go out of date anyway. Keep the legal authority in the will and store the access details separately, in a password manager or a sealed letter of wishes.
What happens to my Facebook account when I die?
Facebook can either memorialise the account or delete it. If you set a legacy contact in advance, that person can manage the memorialised profile, though they cannot log in or read your private messages. Without instructions, family can request memorialisation or removal on proof of death.
Can my family access my Apple iCloud after I die?
Yes, if you set up a Legacy Contact, available on iOS 15.2 and later. That person receives an access key and, with a death certificate, can reach your iCloud photos, files and data. Without a Legacy Contact, access is far harder and may need a court order.
How do I pass on cryptocurrency in the UK?
Record where each wallet or exchange account is held, and store the private key or seed phrase securely and separately from your will. Coins on an exchange can usually be released to your executor with a grant of probate. Coins in a private wallet are lost without the recovery phrase.
Do I need a separate digital will?
Not usually. A single valid will can cover both your physical and digital assets. What most people need alongside it is a digital legacy plan: an inventory of accounts and a secure, separate record of how to access them, kept up to date and known to the executor.