You almost certainly own more digital assets than you realise. Cryptocurrency and online investment accounts. Years of irreplaceable photos in the cloud. Email accounts that are the master key to resetting every other password you own. Social media profiles, domain names, loyalty points, PayPal balances, and online businesses. Some of these have real financial value. Others are priceless in a way money can’t measure.
Yet when it comes to what happens to all of it when you die, Australia has a startling gap: there is no clear, uniform law governing digital assets. No single statute tells your executor what they can access, and the technology companies that hold your accounts make their own rules. The result is that digital assets are routinely lost forever—not because anyone intended it, but because no one planned for it. This guide explains how that happens and how to stop it.
The Core Problem: Digital Assets Don’t Behave Like Physical Ones
When you die owning a house, the title system records it and your executor can deal with it. When you die owning Bitcoin, there is no title office. Your crypto exists only as an entry on a blockchain that can be moved by whoever holds the private keys. No keys, no access—and unlike a bank, there is no one to call to reset them.
The same logic, in softer form, applies to your other online accounts. They are not really “yours” in a property sense; you hold them under a contract (the provider’s terms of service) that usually says access is personal to you and can’t be transferred. Your executor steps into your legal shoes for your estate—but a tech company’s terms of service can still shut them out.
Two things follow from this:
- Access is everything. For digital assets, control follows whoever can log in, not whoever the law says should inherit.
- Without a plan, the default outcome is loss.
How ezylegal helps: Modern estate planning has to account for digital assets, not just the house and the super. Our intake assistant, Rachel Z, asks about your crypto and important online accounts so they’re built into your plan from the start. Start a free chat now.
Cryptocurrency: The Asset That Vanishes
Crypto is the clearest example of how digital assets are lost. Consider what your family faces if you die without a plan:
- They may not even know it exists. Crypto leaves no paper statements in the letterbox. Relatives have discovered six-figure holdings by accident—and surely missed others entirely.
- Knowing it exists isn’t enough. To move crypto, you need the private keys or wallet recovery phrase (the “seed phrase”). Without them, the funds are visible on the blockchain but completely unrecoverable.
- There’s no reset button. The decentralisation that makes crypto powerful also means there is no administrator who can verify a death certificate and restore access.
Industry estimates suggest a meaningful share of all Bitcoin is already permanently lost to forgotten keys. Every one of those was once someone’s asset.
The tax angle
The good news for Australian holders is that death itself is generally not a capital gains tax event for crypto. When it passes to your beneficiary or estate, the capital gain is usually disregarded and the beneficiary inherits your cost base, paying CGT only when they later sell. There are important exceptions—if the crypto passes to a foreign resident or a tax-exempt entity (such as a charity or super fund), a CGT event can be triggered on death. For significant holdings, this is worth specific advice.
How ezylegal helps: We help crypto owners do two things: record access securely so the asset is recoverable, and structure the gift so the tax outcome is understood in advance. See our wills and estates service.
Your Online Accounts: Locked Out by Default
Beyond crypto, the bigger surprise for most families is how hard it is to deal with ordinary online accounts.
- Email is the master key. Whoever controls your email can reset passwords across your entire digital life—which is exactly why providers guard it closely and why you must plan access deliberately.
- Photos and cloud storage hold the memories families most want to preserve, and most often lose when an account is closed for inactivity.
- Social media accounts are typically governed by “memorialisation” or closure policies, not inheritance. Some platforms let you nominate a “legacy contact” in advance—do it now, while you can.
- Subscriptions, PayPal, loyalty points, and online businesses can carry real value or ongoing costs that someone needs the authority to manage.
In every case, the controlling document is the provider’s terms of service, and Australian law gives your executor no general right to override them. Planning ahead is the only reliable way through.
Why You Must Never Put Passwords in Your Will
Here is the trap that catches well-meaning people: writing your passwords, PINs or crypto seed phrase directly into your will.
The problem is that a will can become a public document once it is admitted to probate—and beneficiaries (and sometimes others) may be entitled to a copy. Putting access credentials in your will can expose them, and credentials change constantly anyway, which would force you to redo your will every time you update a password.
The right structure is a separate document:
How ezylegal helps: We set up a digital asset memorandum—a private, secure record of your digital assets and how to access them—that sits alongside your will rather than inside it. Your will gives your executor authority over digital assets; the memorandum gives them the practical means to recover them. You can update the memorandum freely as passwords change, without touching your will. Learn more.
How to Protect Your Digital Estate
A solid digital estate plan has four parts:
- Take inventory. List what you own online—crypto wallets and exchanges, financial accounts, email, cloud storage, social media, domains, subscriptions, and any online income.
- Record access securely. Use a reputable password manager and/or a securely stored digital asset memorandum. Note where keys and recovery phrases are kept—never store them somewhere a will or its readers could expose.
- Give your executor authority. Your will should expressly empower your executor to access, manage, and deal with your digital assets, and direct who inherits assets of value.
- Use platform tools and keep it current. Set up legacy contacts where platforms offer them, and review your memorandum whenever your accounts or passwords change.
Do these four things and your digital life becomes an asset you pass on, rather than one your family watches disappear.
How ezylegal helps: We build all four steps into your will and digital asset memorandum at a transparent fixed fee—reviewed by a qualified Australian lawyer. It’s estate planning that reflects the way you actually live. Start your plan now.
Keep it all in one secure place. Our sister site ezyWill pairs an online will with a secure Digital Vault—somewhere to record your accounts, crypto and key documents so your executor can actually find them. Build a simple will in about 15 minutes from $99/year; for complex estates, ezylegal’s lawyers can help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my family access my cryptocurrency after I die?
Only if they can find and use your private keys or wallet recovery phrase. There is no central authority to reset access—if the keys are lost, the crypto is gone permanently. A secure record of access details, kept separate from your will, is essential.
Will my will cover my digital assets?
It can, but only if it’s drafted to deal with them—giving your executor authority over digital assets and directing who inherits anything of value. Never write passwords or private keys into the will itself; use a separate, secure memorandum that the will refers to.
Can my executor get into my email and social media?
Not automatically. These accounts are governed by the provider’s terms of service, and Australia has no general law granting executors access. Without prior planning—legacy contacts, a memorandum, recorded access—your executor may be locked out.
Is my crypto taxed when I die?
Death is generally not a CGT event for crypto; the gain is usually disregarded and your beneficiary inherits your cost base, deferring CGT until they sell. Exceptions apply if the asset passes to a foreign resident or a tax-exempt entity. Get advice for larger holdings.
What should I do right now if I hold crypto?
Make sure at least the existence of the holding and the means to access it are recorded securely and findable by someone you trust—without exposing the keys themselves. Then have a will and digital asset memorandum drafted so the asset is both recoverable and properly gifted.
How often should I update my digital asset plan?
Review your digital asset memorandum whenever you open or close significant accounts, move crypto between wallets, or change critical passwords. Because it sits outside your will, you can update it as often as needed without redoing your will.
Don’t Let Your Digital Life Disappear
The assets stored on your phone and in the cloud are too valuable—financially and personally—to leave to chance. A modern will and a secure digital asset memorandum make sure they reach the people you choose.
- Start a Chat: Tell Rachel Z about your crypto and online accounts in a few minutes.
- Lawyer Review: A qualified Australian lawyer builds digital assets into your will and memorandum.
- Stay in Control: Update your memorandum freely as your digital life changes.
No billable hours. No lost keys. No vanished memories.
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