Yes — you can and should include digital assets in your New York will. To do it correctly, identify your digital property (cryptocurrency, online accounts, domain names, photos, loyalty points, and more), name a person to manage them, leave clear instructions for access, and execute the will under New York’s standard formalities in EPTL §3-2.1 (at least two attesting witnesses who both sign within one 30-day period, your signature at the end, and a declaration that the document is your will). A will that names a digital executor but is improperly executed protects nothing. Below, Morgan Legal Group explains exactly how to fold your digital life into a valid New York estate plan in 2026.
What Counts as a “Digital Asset”?
A digital asset is any electronic record in which you hold a right or interest. In practice, that covers far more than most New Yorkers realize:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Financial / monetary | Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum), brokerage apps, PayPal/Venmo balances, online bank accounts |
| Business / income | Domain names, websites, monetized YouTube/Instagram channels, e-commerce stores, online IP |
| Sentimental | Photos, videos, cloud storage, email archives, social media accounts |
| Access-based | Loyalty/airline miles, gaming accounts, subscription services |
| Records | Tax documents, password managers, two-factor authentication apps |
Some of these have real monetary value that flows into your taxable estate. Others have no market value but enormous sentimental worth. A complete New York will should address both kinds.
Why Digital Assets Get Lost Without Planning
When someone dies, a traditional executor can locate a bank by mailing a death certificate. Digital assets do not work that way. They are guarded by passwords, encryption, two-factor authentication, and the terms-of-service agreements you clicked “I agree” on years ago.
Consider these realities:
- Crypto has no customer-service line. If your heirs cannot find your private keys or seed phrase, the coins are gone forever. There is no bank to call.
- Platforms restrict access. Many providers will not hand login credentials to your family, even with a death certificate, unless you authorized it in advance.
- Out of sight, out of the estate. Assets nobody knows about cannot be inventoried, distributed, or even taxed properly.
If you die without addressing these items — and especially if you die without any will at all — New York’s intestacy statute (EPTL Article 4) distributes your probate property to your next of kin in a fixed order, with no special handling for passwords, crypto wallets, or sentimental files. You can read more about that default outcome on our intestacy and dying without a will page.
How to Include Digital Assets in Your New York Will
1. Create a Digital Asset Inventory
Outside your will, build a running inventory of every account, wallet, and platform — what it is, where it lives, and (stored securely and separately) how to access it. Do not list passwords or private keys inside the will itself. A will becomes a public record once filed with the Surrogate’s Court, so anything written in it loses its secrecy. Instead, the will references the inventory; the inventory and credentials live in a secure location such as an encrypted password manager or a safe deposit box.
2. Name a Fiduciary to Handle Digital Assets
Your will should authorize your executor — or a separately named “digital executor” — to access, manage, distribute, and close your digital accounts. Choosing someone tech-comfortable for this role is wise; managing a crypto wallet or migrating cloud photo libraries is not a task for everyone. The grant of authority should be explicit so the fiduciary can act under New York and federal law and on the platforms themselves.
3. Give Specific Instructions
Decide what happens to each meaningful asset. Should your business email and domain pass to a partner? Should photos go to your children? Should certain social accounts be memorialized or permanently deleted? Spell it out. For valuable assets like crypto or a monetized channel, name beneficiaries just as you would for any other bequest.
4. Execute the Will Correctly
This is where good intentions fail. A thoughtful digital-asset plan is worthless if the will is not validly executed. Under EPTL §3-2.1, a New York will requires:
- The testator signs at the end of the will.
- At least two attesting witnesses, who both sign within a single 30-day period.
- The testator declares (publishes) to the witnesses that the document is their last will.
Our pages on New York will requirements and the will execution ceremony walk through each step in detail. If you later acquire a major new wallet or want to change your digital executor, you do not necessarily need a brand-new will — a properly executed codicil, signed with the same EPTL §3-2.1 formalities, can amend the existing document. For an overview of building the document from scratch, see our will drafting overview.
Digital Assets and New York Estate Tax in 2026
Digital assets with monetary value are part of your taxable estate. For 2026, New York’s estate tax framework is:
- Basic exclusion amount: $7,350,000
- The “cliff”: at 105% of the exclusion — $7,717,500 — the exemption disappears entirely, and the whole estate is taxed.
- Rates: graduated from 3% to 16%.
A volatile crypto portfolio can quietly push an estate over that cliff. If your total estate is near $7.35 million, the value of your digital holdings is not a footnote — it can determine whether your family keeps the exemption or loses all of it. This is a planning conversation worth having before, not after, a market spike.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Putting passwords in the will. It becomes public; keep credentials in a separate, secure store.
- Naming a digital executor but skipping the EPTL §3-2.1 formalities. Invalid execution voids the whole plan.
- Forgetting crypto access. No seed phrase means no recovery — ever.
- Letting the inventory go stale. Update it whenever you open or close significant accounts.
- Confusing a living will with this. A living will is an advance health-care directive; it does not distribute property. Different document, different job.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I leave my cryptocurrency to someone in my New York will?
Yes. You can name a beneficiary for crypto just like any other asset. The practical key is access: your fiduciary needs the private keys or seed phrase, stored securely outside the public will, or the coins are unrecoverable.
Do I need a separate “digital executor”?
Not necessarily. Your regular executor can handle digital assets if your will grants that authority. Naming a separate, tech-savvy digital executor is optional but often sensible for complex portfolios.
Should I list my passwords in my will?
No. A will filed in Surrogate’s Court becomes a public record. Reference a secure inventory in the will, and keep actual passwords and keys in an encrypted manager or safe deposit box.
Can I add digital assets to an existing will without rewriting it?
Yes — a codicil, executed with the same EPTL §3-2.1 formalities (two witnesses, signature at the end, publication), can amend your current will to add digital-asset provisions.
Plan Your Digital Legacy With Morgan Legal Group
Your digital life deserves the same care as your home and your bank accounts. Morgan Legal Group helps New Yorkers build wills that capture crypto, online businesses, irreplaceable photos, and everything in between — executed correctly the first time. To map out your plan with attorney Russel Morgan, Esq., schedule a consultation at calendly.com/russel-morgan/30min or call (888) 529-1315. Protect what you have built — online and off.
Further reading from Morgan Legal Group: the last will and testament in New York.