Digital Fiduciary Act: What You Need to Know About NJ’s New Law

Gov. Chris Christie recently signed legislation granting fiduciary heirs the right to access a decedent’s digital assets.

Officially named the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (UFADAA), the newly enacted bill passed both houses with no opposition. The New Jersey Law Journal explains:

“The act defines the term “digital assets” as a person’s digital property and electronic communications. Some examples of digital assets are financial accounts, such as online bank accounts; email accounts and social media accounts; computer files; web domains; and virtual currency.”

The Journal continues:
“The UFADAA allows fiduciaries to manage digital property but restricts a fiduciary’s access to electronic communications such as email, text messages and social media accounts unless the original user consented to such access in a will, trust, power of attorney or other record, the sponsors said.”

Read the full article here, and contact the law offices of Kelaher, Van Dyke & Moriarty at 732-505-5444 if you have any questions about estate planning, wills or any other area of elder law.