Why Your Nebraska Estate Plan Must Include Digital Assets
When most people think about estate planning, they imagine their home, vehicles, and bank accounts. But what about your digital life? Your email inbox, social media accounts, cloud-stored photos, or even your cryptocurrency wallet all carry real value. Ignoring these assets can leave your loved ones locked out of meaningful memories or unable to manage valuable property. Nebraska law recognizes this issue. The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) gives you the power to decide who can manage your digital life if you can’t—but only if your estate planning documents explicitly grant that authority. This guide explains what digital assets are, how Nebraska law treats them, and what steps you can take to protect them.
What Exactly Is a Digital Asset?
A digital asset is any electronic record you own or control. Many people don’t realize just how wide this category is. It’s more than just online money—it’s communication, memory, and access.
Think about what’s locked behind a username and password: your Gmail inbox, Facebook page, or LinkedIn profile. Family photos on iCloud or Google Drive. Online banking accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, and payment platforms like PayPal or Venmo. Domain names, blogs, or even video game accounts with in-game items of value.
Losing access to these accounts can mean losing irreplaceable family history, critical business data, or significant financial assets.
How Nebraska’s Digital Asset Law Works
Nebraska adopted RUFADAA (codified at Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-501 to 30-518) to give fiduciaries—executors, trustees, guardians, and agents under a power of attorney—the legal authority to manage digital assets. But the law is layered, and it works in a specific order:
Online tools come first. If a service provider offers a tool to name someone to manage your account (like Google’s “Inactive Account Manager” or Facebook’s “Legacy Contact”), your choice there controls—even over your will or trust.
Your estate plan comes next. If no online tool exists, your written instructions in a will, trust, or power of attorney take priority. This is why it’s essential to include RUFADAA-specific language. Without it, your fiduciary may have no legal authority to act.
Terms of service are the default. If you haven’t used an online tool or updated your estate plan, the platform’s terms of service govern. In practice, this often means your loved ones can’t access the account, and it may eventually be deleted.
The takeaway: if you don’t plan ahead, you leave your digital legacy up to tech company policies—not your wishes.
Practical Steps to Protect Your Digital Legacy
Protecting your digital assets doesn’t have to be complicated. A strong plan usually involves three steps:
First, create an inventory of your digital accounts. List the accounts and their importance, but for security reasons, don’t write down passwords in the will itself. Instead, use a secure password manager or a separate memorandum.
Second, appoint a fiduciary who can handle this responsibility. Choose someone you trust and who’s tech-savvy enough to navigate online accounts.
Finally, update your legal documents. Adding RUFADAA-compliant provisions to your will, trust, and power of attorney ensures your fiduciary has the legal “keys” to manage your digital assets.
Many Nebraskans also create a separate digital asset memorandum—a private document referenced in their estate plan that gives practical instructions without exposing sensitive information in the public probate record.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are digital assets part of my estate in Nebraska?
Yes. Nebraska law treats them as personal property. With the right language in your plan, they can be accessed, managed, and transferred like any other asset.
What happens if I don’t plan for my digital assets?
Your family may be denied access by providers citing federal privacy laws. They may have to go to court for access, which is costly, time-consuming, and uncertain.
Can I put passwords in my will?
No. Wills become public during probate. Never list passwords in them. Use a secure password manager or memorandum instead.
Does RUFADAA cover cryptocurrency and NFTs?
Yes. Cryptocurrencies and NFTs are digital assets under the law. Your fiduciary will need explicit authority to manage them.
Can I limit access to certain accounts?
Absolutely. You can authorize different fiduciaries for different categories—someone might manage your financial accounts, while another handles personal communications.
The Bottom Line
Your digital assets are a major part of your life and legacy. Nebraska law provides a framework to protect them, but only if you take the step of including digital asset provisions in your estate plan. By updating your documents with RUFADAA-compliant language, you can ensure your loved ones aren’t locked out of your accounts and that your digital life is handled exactly as you intend.