Death and Digital Assets

The question of who can access and control  the online accounts of a deceased is not settled in Colorado.  In this era of electronic social media being the main source of information for some people, control of a deceased’s online presence could be very important.   Several states including Idaho and Oklahoma have statutes that grant a designated personal representative control over the deceased’s digital assets.  Colorado has not joined those states that grant this power explicitly to the Personal Representative.   While we can expect legislation fairly soon, in the meantime, we suggest that you and other members of your family  share your digital account information including your passwords  with a trusted family member or friend.  You can also specifically  empower your personal representative to take charge of your accounts, but in the absence of a statute, the providers, (e.g. Facebook) may not honor that directive.