If you live in Miami, a surprising amount of your life lives online: the Zelle and bank logins on your phone, the photos from a weekend in Key Biscayne, a crypto wallet, your business’s Instagram, even cloud-stored documents. When most people picture an estate plan, they think of the house and the bank account. But your digital assets matter too, and Florida law has clear rules about who can reach them after you are gone.
What Counts as a Digital Asset?
A digital asset is essentially any electronic record you own or control. Common examples for Miami families include:
- Cryptocurrency and online brokerage accounts
- Email, social media, and cloud photo storage
- PayPal, Venmo, and other payment apps
- Domain names, websites, and online business accounts
- Loyalty points, e-books, and subscription services
Some of these have real dollar value. Others are sentimental, like family photos. Both deserve a plan.
Florida’s Law on Digital Access
Florida adopted the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (found in Chapter 740 of the Florida Statutes). In plain terms, it lets the person you name as your personal representative, trustee, or agent under a power of attorney access certain digital assets, but only if you have given the right permissions. The law follows a priority order: an online tool offered by the platform (like a legacy contact) usually controls first, then your will or trust, then the provider’s terms of service.
That last point matters. Many platforms forbid sharing passwords or treat your account as non-transferable. Simply writing your passwords on a sticky note does not give your family legal authority, and it can even violate the terms you agreed to.
Practical Steps for Miami Residents
You do not need to be tech-savvy to get this right. A few concrete moves go a long way:
- Make an inventory. List your accounts and where they live, without writing passwords in the document itself.
- Use built-in legacy tools. Set a legacy contact on platforms that offer one.
- Authorize access in your documents. Your Florida will, revocable trust (Chapter 736), and durable power of attorney (Chapter 709) should each include language granting your fiduciary authority over digital assets.
- Store credentials safely. A reputable password manager lets a trusted person retrieve logins without exposing them in your public-facing court documents.
Don’t Forget Cryptocurrency
Crypto is unforgiving. If no one knows the wallet exists or where the private keys are stored, the assets are simply lost, with no bank or help line to call. For Miami investors, leaving clear, secure instructions about how to locate and access keys is the single most important step. The will or trust can name who inherits, but only your private instructions make recovery possible.
A Note on Probate
Digital assets with value still pass through your estate. Depending on the size of the estate, that may be Florida’s summary administration or the more involved formal administration under the Florida Probate Code (Chapters 731 to 735). Naming the right fiduciary and granting clear authority helps your family avoid delays at the Miami-Dade probate court.
Talk to a Florida Attorney
Digital assets are still new enough that generic online templates often miss them entirely. A Miami estate planning attorney can update your will, trust, and power of attorney with the precise Florida language needed so your loved ones can actually reach what you leave behind. Because every situation differs, consult a licensed Florida attorney before acting on this general information.
For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of Florida estate planning. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles New York probate and estate administration.