How to Include Digital Assets in Your Will: Protecting Crypto, Online Accounts, and Intellectual Property in the UK

Digital assets can form a valuable part of your estate. Learn how to protect cryptocurrency, online accounts, domains and intellectual property in your will, what the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 means, and how to help executors deal with your digital estate.

How Recent Changes to Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 affect you

Wealth isn’t just about physical property and traditional bank accounts anymore. Increasingly, a significant part of our personal and business wealth lives online. Despite this, digital assets can still be overlooked when making or updating a will.

This guide breaks down what a digital asset is under English law, how recent legal changes affect you, and the practical steps you can take to ensure your cryptocurrency, online accounts, and intellectual property (IP) are protected and passed on to the right people.

Why Digital Assets Matter in Estate Planning

When you think of your “assets,” things like houses, savings accounts, and investments usually come to mind. However, if you own Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, run a monetised YouTube channel or blog, own a domain name, hold non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or have created original online work, you own digital assets. These can hold major financial or sentimental value for your estate.

Until recently, the law was unclear about whether these digital holdings could be owned and inherited in the same way as physical property. There was a risk that a crypto wallet or digital token wouldn’t be recognised as part of your estate in a meaningful legal sense.

The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025

To address this legal uncertainty the Government introduced new legislation, The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025, which received Royal Assent and came into force on 2 December 2025.

This law confirms that certain digital assets, including cryptocurrencies and NFTs, are now officially recognised as personal property under the law of England and Wales. This marks a shift into how digital assets are considered, because assets that do not fit neatly into the two traditional categories of personal property (“things in possession” and “things in action”), are not prevented from being personal property.

Thanks to this Act, digital assets can now be:

• Gifted inside a will.
• Inherited under the intestacy rules if you die without a will.
• Used as security in financial transactions.
• Traced and recovered through the courts if they are stolen or disputed.

The Act does not provide a rigid, permanent list of what counts as a digital asset. Instead, it allows the courts to expand the boundaries over time, giving them the flexibility to adapt with any developing technology. Currently, things like cryptocurrency, NFTs, and other tokenised assets are firmly within its scope.

What Counts as a Digital Asset?

Digital assets cover a wide range of items and generally fall into four main categories:

Financial Digital Assets

These assets carry direct monetary value and are the most heavily impacted by the 2025 Act. They include:

• Cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
• Tokenised investments.
• Online investment accounts and digital wallets.

Please note that HMRC treats all cryptoassets as property for both Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax purposes, as detailed in HMRC’s Cryptoassets Manual. They must be carefully accounted for in your will.

Online Accounts with Commercial Value

These are accounts that generate income or support a business, such as:

• Monetised social media accounts, blogs, and websites.
• Domain names and e-commerce stores.
• Digital subscription businesses and business email accounts.

Whilst these have commercial value, they are strictly governed by platform terms and conditions, which may limit or completely block them from being transferred upon death. Always check the platform’s terms before assuming an account can be inherited.

Personal Digital Accounts

These often hold sentimental rather than financial value. They include:

• Social media profiles and email accounts.
• Cloud storage (like iCloud or Google Drive) and digital photo libraries.
• Gaming accounts and loyalty points.

Every platform handles a user’s death differently. For example, Facebook allows you to name a “legacy contact” to memorialise your account. On the other hand, Apple’s iTunes treats your account licence as strictly personal to you, meaning it cannot be passed on and the account must be closed.

Intellectual Property (IP)

This is a distinct and often highly valuable category. Copyright for original written, artistic, musical, and dramatic works last for 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the creator dies. Other IP rights like patents, trademarks, and design rights can also form part of an estate to be gifted, licensed, or transferred in a will. Because IP can generate royalty income long after you pass away, it requires careful consideration when planning your estate.

What Happens to your Digital Assets If You Die Without a Will?

If you die without a valid will in England and Wales then your estate, including your digital assets, is distributed according to the rules of intestacy.

These rules follow a strict family hierarchy based on your surviving relatives at the time you die, and can completely ignore your personal relationships or wishes.

A close friend, business partner, or preferred charity would receive nothing under intestacy laws.

For digital assets, dying without a will creates severe logistical roadblocks. Without named executors or clear directions, your family may face these issues:

• They may not know what digital assets you actually own.
• They may lack the legal authority to access your accounts or wallets.
• Assets could be permanently lost if nobody knows your private keys or logins.
• They could face long delays and legal disputes trying to recover anything of value.

Whilst the 2025 Act ensures digital assets are legally recognised under intestacy rules, these rules were never designed with technology in mind. Writing a proper will is the best possible way to protect them.

The Risks of Getting This Wrong

Failing to plan ahead for your digital estate can carry serious risks:

• Permanently Lost Crypto – Unlike a standard bank account, cryptocurrency held in a self-custody wallet (rather than a public exchange) can only be accessed via a private key or a 12-to-24-word seed phrase. If no one knows where to find this recovery phrase after your death, the crypto is lost forever. No bank, solicitor, or court can get it back.
• Inheritance Tax (IHT) Complications – Executors must value cryptoassets at their open market value on the exact date of death. Because crypto prices can fluctuate wildly, this requires careful handling. Any inheritance tax owed must be paid by the end of the sixth month after the month of death to stop interest from building up. Executors must report full details to HMRC using form IHT400 before probate is granted. Submitting an incomplete estate account because digital assets were hidden or inaccessible can result in HMRC penalties and delays.
• Breaching the Computer Misuse Act 1990 – Under Section 1 of this Act, accessing a computer system without authorisation is a criminal offence. If an executor uses a deceased person’s login details to access an online account, and, importantly, the platform’s terms of service forbid it, they are technically breaking the law. Whilst in reality prosecution risks may be low, platforms have been known to suspend or delete accounts when they detect unauthorised access. Executors should instead contact digital platforms formally with legal authority.
• Loss of Intellectual Property Income – If you do not specifically gift a piece of intellectual property in your will, its rights automatically roll into your “residuary estate” (the general pool of leftover assets). If you want a specific person to manage or profit from a particular creative work, you must say so explicitly in your will.

How to Protect Your Digital Assets: 5 Practical Steps

Taking action now is straightforward and can save your executors and loved ones a lot of stress in the future.

1. Build a Digital Asset Inventory

Write down a list of every digital asset you own. Include the platform or exchange where it lives, its approximate value, and whether it is stored offline (cold storage) or online (hot wallet). Don’t forget domain names, online businesses, IP registrations, and monetised social media accounts. Update this list at least once a year and store it securely (like on an encrypted USB drive or in a physical safe).

2. Store Access Details Securely (Never in the Will)

Once probate is granted, your will becomes a public document. You should therefore never put passwords, PINs, or seed phrases directly in your will, or any member of the public will be able to read them. Instead, keep access codes in a separate, secure digital vault or a sealed document, and privately let your executor know where to find it.

3. Write a Letter of Wishes

A letter of wishes is a private, confidential note to your executor that guides them on how to find and access your digital assets. Unlike a will, it does not become a public document. Whilst it isn’t legally binding like your will, it provides crucial guidance and can be updated easily at any time rather than going through the formal legal steps required to change a will.

4. Choose a Tech-Savvy Executor

Managing crypto wallets, digital keys, or online businesses requires a degree of technical knowledge. You might want to name a professionally experienced executor, appoint a specialist “digital executor” alongside your general executor, or simply leave detailed, clear instructions for your chosen executor to follow with professional help.

Why Is Appointing a Suitable Executor Important?

Thereafter, a crucial part of any Will is appointing suitable executors who will be able to fulfil your wishes. The executor(s) will be responsible for managing and distributing your assets once you have passed away and it is therefore important that if you are planning on leaving digital assets in your Will, the executor has sufficient technical knowledge to access and distribute the digital assets. For disputes with executors, click here.

For suspicious wills, click here.

5. Turn On Platform Legacy Features

Many major platforms have built-in tools to handle your data after you pass away. For instance, Google features an Inactive Account Manager to allow data access to be passed to a trusted person after a period of inactivity. You should check whether the platforms you use have such a feature, set these up, but remember they are meant to support your legal will, not replace it.

Intellectual Property in Your Will: A Common Oversight

For creators, authors, business owners, musicians, developers, and inventors, intellectual property is often the most valuable asset they own. Yet, it can frequently be left out of estate planning.

Because copyright lasts for your lifetime plus 70 years, and registered rights like patents and trademarks can be actively traded or maintained, they can generate income for decades to come. If your will doesn’t mention your IP, it automatically goes to whoever inherits your general residuary estate. If you want someone specific to manage your creative portfolio or collect royalties, you must state that clearly. For complex portfolios, you can even appoint a specialist “literary executor” or trustee.

If you own a business with IP assets, you should check your shareholders’ agreement or partnership agreement before including these assets in your will. These documents often outline what happens to IP when an owner dies or resigns, and they need to align with the wishes in your will.

What Should a Will Say About Digital Assets?

To be effective, a modern will needs to do a few key things:

• Use a broad definition of “digital assets” so the document doesn’t become outdated as technology changes.
• Give your executor explicit legal power to hold, trade, transfer, or close digital accounts (otherwise, they might need to make an expensive court application).
• Clearly state who gets specific digital gifts.
• Outline exactly what your executor is authorised to do to minimise disputes.
• Exclude passwords and seed phrases, referencing a separate secure document instead.

What Should Happen to Sensitive Personal Information?

Once you have created a comprehensive list of your digital assets and decided who to appoint as an executor, it is crucial to clearly specify your wishes in relation to each asset.

It is common for digital assets’ ownership to be transferred, however, you may have additional wishes, for example that any personal information which is of a sensitive nature is removed.

How the Jonathan Lea Network can help

The Jonathan Lea Network helps individuals, families, and business owners navigate wills, estate planning, and probate. We can:

• Review your current will to see if it properly covers your digital assets and intellectual property.
• Draft a brand-new will tailored to handle cryptocurrency, online businesses, and IP rights.
• Help you set up a confidential letter of wishes and secure your digital inventory instructions.
• Guide executors through managing a digital estate, including account access, valuations, and handling HMRC tax rules.

Based in Sussex, our team supports clients across the UK and internationally. Because the law changed significantly with the 2025 Act, older wills likely lack the framework needed to protect digital assets. Planning early ensures your family isn’t left facing difficult technical and legal hurdles during an already stressful time.

FAQs

Contact Us

We provide most enquiries with an indicative scope of work and fee estimate, based on the information you share. We aim to respond within one working day.

In the same email you will be invited to arrange a 20-minute complimentary, no-obligation video consultation, should the proposed scope of work and fee estimate be of interest. This initial discussion is designed to better understand your requirements, refine the scope and ensure our approach is fully aligned with your objectives, at the end of which we will email you a definitive formal fee estimate to consider and approve.

Where you would prefer to receive initial advice and guidance from the outset, or where a short introductory call would not be the most appropriate starting point, we may instead recommend a 2.5-hour fixed-fee appointment, starting from £750 + VAT. This enables us to review the information you provide, discuss your situation with you and provide considered, tailored advice at an early stage.

To make an enquiry, please email us at wewillhelp@jonathanlea.net, complete our contact form, or call us on 01444 708640.

 

VAT is charged at 20%.

This article is intended for general information only, applies to the law at the time of publication, is not specific to the facts of your case and is not intended to be a replacement for legal advice. It is recommended that specific professional advice is sought before relying on any of the information given. © Jonathan Lea Limited. 

Photo by Carriza Maiquez on Unsplash