Digital Assets and Your Estate: What Arkansans Need to Know Under the RUFADAA

Posted: June 14, 2026

When most people think about what they own, they picture a home, a bank account, a retirement fund, or a vehicle. But for a growing number of Arkansans, some of their most valuable possessions exist only online — cryptocurrency holdings, years of digital photographs, or an email account. What happens to those assets when you die? Who can access them? And does your executor even have the legal authority to manage them?

Arkansas law provides answers to these questions through the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), codified at Arkansas Code Annotated §§ 28-73-1001 through 28-73-1017. Understanding how this law works is an essential — and often overlooked — part of managing your digital assets Arkansas estate plan properly.

Please contact any of McDaniel Wolff's estate planning attorneys if we can assist you with planning for your digital assets, or submit an inquiry online.

What Are Digital Assets Under Arkansas Law?

RUFADAA defines a "digital asset" broadly as an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. The law covers an enormous range of property, including:

Online financial accounts (PayPal, Venmo, cryptocurrency wallets, online brokerage accounts)
Email and social media accounts (Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn)
Cloud storage accounts containing photos, documents, videos, or other files (Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox)
Domain names and websites with commercial value
Digital business records and intellectual property stored electronically
Loyalty program points, airline miles, and gaming assets with real-world monetary value
Online subscriptions with prepaid value

Notably, the law does not give fiduciaries the right to access the content of electronic communications — such as the text of emails or private messages — unless the account holder has specifically authorized it. This distinction matters greatly in practice.

Why Did Arkansas Need a Digital Assets Law?

Before RUFADAA, Arkansas fiduciaries — executors, trustees, guardians, and agents under a power of attorney — faced a serious problem. Federal laws like the Stored Communications Act (SCA) and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) prohibited technology companies from disclosing the contents of user accounts to third parties, even a deceased person's family or estate representative. Service providers interpreted their terms of service agreements to terminate accounts at death or to refuse access by anyone other than the account holder.

This created situations where families were locked out of a loved one's email, lost irreplaceable digital photographs, or were unable to access a small business owner's online payment processor — all because no legal framework existed to give a fiduciary the authority to compel access. RUFADAA — adopted in Arkansas and now in effect in the vast majority of states — was designed to solve that problem.

How Does the RUFADAA Priority System Work?

One of the most important features of Arkansas's RUFADAA is the three-tier priority system that governs how a fiduciary's access rights are determined. Understanding this hierarchy is essential for anyone doing estate planning:

Tier 1 — Online Tool Designations. If a service provider offers an online tool that allows a user to name someone to access or manage the account after death, that designation controls above all else. Facebook's "Legacy Contact" feature and Google's "Inactive Account Manager" are examples. These designations override conflicting instructions in a will or trust.

Tier 2 — Estate Planning Documents. If no online tool designation exists, the fiduciary's access rights are governed by the account holder's will, trust, power of attorney, or other estate planning document — provided that document specifically addresses digital assets. A generic grant of authority to an executor or trustee is generally not sufficient.

Tier 3 — Service Provider Terms of Service. If no online tool designation exists and no estate planning document addresses digital assets, the service provider's own terms of service agreement will control access. In most cases, this means access is denied or severely limited.

The practical takeaway is clear: most people's digital assets will be governed by the default terms of service of each service provider — the least favorable outcome — unless they take proactive planning steps.

What Authority Does a Fiduciary Have?

Arkansas's RUFADAA grants different levels of access depending on the type of fiduciary and the type of digital asset:

Executors and Personal Representatives of a deceased person's estate may access the catalog of digital assets (essentially, a list of what exists) by default. Access to the actual content of electronic communications — emails, text messages, private messages — requires either an online tool designation or explicit authorization in a will or court order.

Trustees have the same default rights as personal representatives with respect to digital assets that are held in trust.

Agents under a Power of Attorney may access digital assets only if the power of attorney document expressly grants that authority. A general "all acts" power of attorney clause is typically not sufficient under the Act.

Guardians and Conservators may petition a court for access to a ward's digital assets, but must demonstrate that the access is in the ward's best interest.

What Should Arkansans Do to Protect Their Digital Assets?

The gap between what most people assume their fiduciary can do and what Arkansas law actually permits is significant. Here are the key steps to ensure your digital estate is handled according to your wishes:

Take inventory of your digital assets. Create a comprehensive list of your online accounts, including financial accounts, social media profiles, cloud storage, email, and any accounts with stored monetary value. Include usernames, passwords (stored securely), and account recovery information. Store this list where your fiduciary can find it — a secure password manager or a sealed document with your estate planning files.
Use online tool designations where available. If platforms like Google, Facebook, or Apple offer legacy contact or beneficiary designation tools, use them. Because these designations take priority over your will under RUFADAA, they are the most powerful planning tool available and should be reviewed regularly.
Update your will and trust to expressly address digital assets. Your estate planning documents should specifically authorize your executor or trustee to access, manage, distribute, and if appropriate delete your digital assets. Language that simply grants authority over "all assets" may not be sufficient to override a service provider's terms of service under Arkansas law.
Update your durable power of attorney. If you want your agent to manage online financial accounts or business-related digital assets during your lifetime (including periods of incapacity), your power of attorney must expressly grant that authority.
Consider the distinction between content and catalogs. Be thoughtful about whether you want a fiduciary to have access to the actual content of your electronic communications. If privacy in your correspondence is important, you may wish to limit access to catalog information only — or make specific designations for particular accounts.

Special Considerations for Business Owners and Investors

For Arkansas business owners, digital assets can represent significant value that a fiduciary must be able to access and manage quickly. These assets can include domain names, business email accounts, customer databases, e-commerce accounts, social media brand profiles, and critically — cryptocurrency and digital payment processor accounts.

Cryptocurrency presents a unique challenge even under RUFADAA. Unlike a bank account, cryptocurrency holdings are typically controlled by private cryptographic keys. If your executor or trustee cannot locate those keys — and service providers cannot recover them — the assets may be permanently inaccessible regardless of what your estate planning documents say. For cryptocurrency holders, a clear, secure protocol for transferring access to a fiduciary is essential.

Business succession planning documents should specifically address what happens to the company's digital infrastructure — its online accounts, software licenses, proprietary databases, and web presence — upon the death or incapacity of an owner.

A Growing Area of Arkansas Estate Law

The intersection of digital technology and estate law continues to evolve rapidly. As the value of digital assets grows — and as more of everyday life migrates online — the importance of thoughtful digital estate planning will only increase. Arkansas courts and practitioners are still working through the practical application of RUFADAA in areas such as the scope of fiduciary authority over NFTs and other blockchain-based assets, the treatment of subscription-based intellectual property, and the interaction between RUFADAA and federal privacy laws.

A comprehensive, up-to-date estate plan should address not just the traditional components — a will, a trust, a power of attorney, and beneficiary designations — but also a clear strategy for your digital assets Arkansas estate. The attorneys at McDaniel Wolff regularly advise Arkansas individuals, families, and business owners on estate planning strategies that account for digital assets under Arkansas law.

To learn more or to schedule a consultation, please contact our office or visit our Estate Planning and Probate & Estate Administration practice area pages.