9131 / How can the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act help an individual in planning for disposition of digital assets?

Section 4 of the Uniform Act provides a means for users to provide instructions for the disposition or deletion of their digital assets, and establishes a priority system when online tools, legal documents, and terms of service conflict. Section 4 of the Uniform Act addresses the relationship of online tools, legal documents recording a user’s intent, and terms-of-service agreements.A user may use an online tool to authorize or deny disclosure of some or all of the user’s digital assets, including the content of electronic communications. If the user’s wishes have been expressed using an online tool from a provider, those instructions will override a contrary instruction in a legal document (will, trust, power of attorney, or other record) or in the provider’s terms of service.

If the user has not provided instructions using an online tool from the provider, or if the provider does not have an online tool for that purpose, the user’s instructions as expressed in a legal document will prevail, even if the provider’s terms of service conflict with those instructions.

Finally, if the user provides no other direction, the service provider’s terms of service will apply. If the terms of service do not address fiduciary access to users’ digital assets, the default rules of the Uniform Act will apply.