Estate planning has always been about what you leave behind. For most of our history as a firm, that meant physical things — real estate, financial accounts, personal property, business interests — and the legal documents that determined where they would go. The questions were familiar, if never easy.
Something has shifted. Today, a person's meaningful assets and meaningful presence may be almost entirely digital. Email archives. Social media accounts. Cloud-stored photographs. Cryptocurrency wallets. Subscription services that auto-renew. And increasingly: conversations with AI tools that can mirror a person's voice, preferences, and way of thinking. The legal framework for all of this is still catching up.
This article doesn't pretend to have all the answers — nobody does yet. But these are questions our clients are beginning to ask, and they deserve a thoughtful look.
The Landscape: What a Digital Estate Actually Contains
Most families, when they think of digital assets, think of financial accounts — online brokerage accounts, a PayPal balance, maybe a Bitcoin wallet. Those are important and often overlooked in estate planning. But the full picture is much broader:
- Financial accounts — investment platforms, payment apps, digital wallets, cryptocurrency holdings
- Subscription and loyalty accounts — airline miles, hotel points, streaming service credits, rewards programs
- Content and creative work — photos, videos, written work, domain names, websites, intellectual property in digital form
- Social media and communications — email archives, social media profiles, messaging histories
- Business assets — digital storefronts, online revenue streams, client databases
- AI-generated or AI-preserved content — an emerging and genuinely novel category
The challenge is not just identifying these assets but accessing them. Most platforms have terms of service that prohibit account sharing or transfer, and many do not recognize fiduciary access rights unless specific legal arrangements are made in advance.
The Heppner Ruling: A Word of Caution for Anyone Using AI
In February 2026, a federal court issued a notable ruling in United States v. Heppner that is worth understanding — for clients and for attorneys alike. The court held that communications with a publicly accessible AI tool do not carry attorney-client privilege and may be discoverable in litigation. The reasoning was straightforward: if a communication is made to a third-party service available to the general public, it lacks the confidentiality that is the foundation of privilege.
What this means in plain terms: If you use a consumer AI tool — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or similar — to discuss your legal situation, financial affairs, estate planning concerns, or family circumstances, those conversations are not protected as attorney-client communications. They could potentially be obtained in a lawsuit, a divorce proceeding, a tax examination, or a probate dispute.
This does not mean you should stop using AI tools — they are genuinely useful for many things. It means you should be thoughtful about what you discuss with them. Questions like "how do I hide assets from my spouse" or "what happens if I don't disclose this account" could, in the right circumstances, resurface in ways you did not anticipate.
The same caution applies to attorneys. A lawyer who inputs confidential client information into a public AI system may have disclosure obligations and could face professional responsibility questions. The legal profession is actively working through how these tools fit within existing ethical frameworks.
AI and the Digital Afterlife
A newer and stranger question is emerging from the rapid advance of AI: What happens to AI systems trained on your data, or capable of mimicking your voice and personality, after you die?
Several startups now offer "digital legacy" services — products that compile your writings, recordings, social media history, and other data to create an interactive representation of you that family members can continue to communicate with after your death. Similar technology underlies some AI companions and voice-cloning services already in use today.
The legal and ethical questions here are unresolved:
- Do you have property rights in an AI-generated likeness of yourself, and can those rights be transferred?
- Can a deceased person's estate prevent a company from continuing to use their data for AI training?
- What are the psychological implications for families, and should estate plans address preferences about whether such services may be used?
- How do existing right-of-publicity laws — which vary significantly by state — apply to AI-generated personas?
Pennsylvania does not yet have specific legislation on post-mortem AI rights, but the landscape is developing. Several states are beginning to address AI-generated likenesses in the context of entertainment and publicity rights, and federal legislation has been proposed.
A practical note: Even without settled law, you can express your preferences now. An estate plan can include a written statement of wishes regarding your digital presence — whether you want social media accounts memorialized or deleted, whether you consent to or prohibit services that use your data to create an AI persona, and who you authorize to make those decisions. These provisions won't create law, but they can guide your fiduciaries and give your family a clear expression of your intent.
Practical Steps: Planning for Your Digital Estate
The good news is that much of digital estate planning involves straightforward steps that families can take today. The law in this area is evolving, but the basics are clear:
1. Create a digital inventory
List your digital accounts, their approximate value or significance, and where login credentials or recovery information can be found. This inventory should be stored securely — not in a will, which becomes a public document — and your executor or trustee should know it exists.
2. Use your state's fiduciary access law
Pennsylvania has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA). Under Pennsylvania law, you can authorize your executor, trustee, or agent under a power of attorney to access your digital assets — but you must do so explicitly. Merely naming an executor does not automatically grant digital access rights. Your estate planning documents should specifically address this.
3. Use platform tools where available
Google, Apple, Facebook, and others offer legacy planning features — the ability to designate a person to manage or download your account data after death. These platform-level designations typically override what your will says, so they should be coordinated with your broader estate plan rather than treated as a separate matter.
4. Address cryptocurrency specifically
Cryptocurrency requires special attention. Unlike a brokerage account, there is no custodian to contact — access to a crypto wallet requires the private key, and without it, the assets are irretrievably lost. Your estate plan should include secure provision for key storage and fiduciary access, without creating a security risk.
A Starting Checklist for Digital Estate Planning
- Create a secure digital inventory listing accounts, approximate values, and access instructions
- Store the inventory securely (encrypted file, password manager, or secure physical document) — not in your will
- Ensure your power of attorney and any trust documents explicitly authorize digital asset access under RUFADAA
- Set up legacy contacts or inactive account managers on major platforms (Google, Apple, Meta)
- Make specific arrangements for any cryptocurrency holdings, including private key access
- Consider a written statement of wishes regarding AI-generated likenesses or digital afterlife services
- Review whether subscription services with significant value (loyalty points, digital content libraries) are addressed in your plan
A Word for Families Navigating This Now
If you are administering a loved one's estate and encountering digital assets, know that you are not alone in finding it complicated. Platforms vary widely in how they handle death — some have clear processes, others have none. Our office has experience working through these situations and can help you understand your rights and options under Pennsylvania law.
The digital dimension of estate planning is no longer a niche concern. It is increasingly central to what families leave behind and what they need protected. We expect to be writing about this topic for years to come as the law continues to develop.
This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Laws governing digital assets and AI are evolving rapidly. Please consult with a qualified attorney regarding your specific situation.