Digital Assets, Crypto, and Wills

"Digital assets" is a catch-all term that covers very different legal animals. The first step in planning is to categorise:

• Cryptocurrency and tokens. The Law Commission has confirmed (and the High Court accepted in AA v Persons Unknown [2019] EWHC 3556 (Comm)) that crypto is "property" capable of being owned, held on trust, traced, and inherited. Crypto passes by will or intestacy like any other chattel — but only if the executors can actually access the wallet.
• Self-hosted files (photos on your own drive, video files, documents). These are tangible property — the device they sit on is the chattel, and the executor takes it as part of the estate.
• Cloud storage and online accounts. These are typically licences from the platform, not property. The account terms usually say the licence is personal and ends on death. You cannot leave the account itself in your will. You can, however, leave the contents to the extent the platform allows access (see "legacy tools" below).
• Intellectual property. Copyright, trade marks, registered designs, and domain names are property and can be left by will. Copyright in your own photos and writing lasts 70 years past death. Domain names are contracts with a registrar — the registrar will usually transfer to a personal representative on production of probate.
• Reward points, loyalty schemes, frequent flyer miles. Usually licences, usually personal, usually not transferable on death — though some schemes will transfer to a named beneficiary on request.

The practical lesson: a will can deal with the assets you own (crypto, files, IP, domains), but cannot override platform terms on accounts you only licence. Plan accordingly.

Crypto in a self-custody wallet (Trezor, Ledger, or a software wallet) is recoverable only by someone holding the seed phrase or private key. There is no "forgot password" route. If the holder dies without recording the keys somewhere accessible to the executor, the asset is, in practice, lost.

A will alone is not enough. Best practice is a two-layer approach:

• The will identifies the crypto as part of the estate, names a beneficiary or directs sale and distribution, and grants the executor express power to engage a crypto recovery specialist if needed.
• A separate "access plan" — held with a solicitor, in a safety-deposit box, or in a key-recovery service — records the wallet location, type, and how to access (seed phrase split across two locations, or a key-management service such as Casa Inheritance, Coincover, or a multi-signature setup).

Do not write the seed phrase in the will itself. The will becomes a public document on grant of probate — anyone reading it could drain the wallet before the executor reaches it. Reference the access plan without disclosing its content.

Crypto held on exchanges (Coinbase, Binance, Kraken) is recoverable through the exchange's bereavement process — the executor produces probate and a death certificate. This is much easier than self-custody recovery, but counterparty risk on the exchange remains.

The major platforms now offer legacy or memorial controls that operate independently of the will:

• Apple Legacy Contact — set in iCloud settings. The legacy contact, with an access key and a death certificate, can download photos, files, notes, and contacts from the deceased's Apple ID. Without this, Apple historically refused access without a US court order.
• Google Inactive Account Manager — set in Google account settings. After a configurable period of inactivity, named contacts can be notified and given limited access to specified data categories.
• Facebook (Meta) Legacy Contact — memorialises the account and allows the legacy contact to pin a tribute, update the profile photo, and download an archive (but not read messages).
• Microsoft "Next of Kin" process — provides an OneDrive data export on production of probate and a death certificate.
• X / TikTok / Instagram — generally only deactivate or memorialise; data access varies by jurisdiction.

The will should reference these tools rather than try to override them. A modern digital-assets clause might say: "I direct my executors to use any platform-provided legacy or memorialisation tools to obtain my online account contents and to release them in accordance with my Letter of Wishes." Set the tools up in life; the will then activates them.

The recommended structure is:

1. A defined term in the will — "Digital Assets" — covering crypto, domain names, IP, self-hosted files, and account contents accessible under platform legacy tools.
2. A specific gift or residual gift of the Digital Assets to a named beneficiary or class.
3. Express executor powers to engage technical advisers, instruct crypto recovery services, pay reasonable expenses for recovery, and accept assets in their existing form (not just sterling).
4. A Letter of Wishes (separate from the will, not legally binding but practically followed) describing where the assets are, what platform tools have been set up, and what should be done with them (deletion, transfer, public memorialisation).
5. A digital-asset memorandum stored with a solicitor or in a sealed safety-deposit box, containing the actual access information — referenced from the Letter of Wishes but kept out of the public probate file.

Update at least annually. Any change of wallet, new platform, or new high-value account should trigger an amendment to the memorandum. The will itself rarely needs amendment, because it refers generically to "Digital Assets" rather than to specific items.

Inheritance Tax treatment: HMRC treats crypto as property situated where the beneficial owner is resident, valued at probate-date sterling. The IHT400 schedule IHT417 (foreign assets) or the residue section is used depending on situs. Crypto can push estates above the nil-rate band more easily than people realise — value at last six months, not the high-water mark, when planning.