Probate Code section 880


(a)

The legal duties imposed on a fiduciary charged with managing tangible property apply to the management of digital assets, including all of the following:

(1)

The duty of care.

(2)

The duty of loyalty.

(3)

The duty of confidentiality.

(b)

All of the following shall apply to a fiduciary’s or designated recipient’s authority with respect to a digital asset of a user:

(1)

Except as otherwise provided in Section 873, a fiduciary’s or designated recipient’s authority is subject to the applicable terms-of-service agreement.

(2)

A fiduciary’s or designated recipient’s authority is subject to other applicable law, including copyright law.

(3)

A fiduciary’s authority is limited by the scope of the fiduciary’s duties.

(4)

A fiduciary’s or designated recipient’s authority may not be used to impersonate the user.

(c)

(1)A fiduciary with authority over the property of a decedent or settlor has the right of access to any digital asset in which the decedent or settlor had a right or interest that is not held by a custodian or subject to a terms-of-service agreement.

(2)

This subdivision does not require a custodian to share passwords or decrypt protected devices.

(d)

A fiduciary acting within the scope of the fiduciary’s duties is an authorized user of the property of the decedent, conservatee, principal, or settlor for the purpose of applicable computer-fraud and unauthorized-computer-access laws.

(e)

The following shall apply to a fiduciary with authority over the tangible, personal property of a decedent, conservatee, principal, or settlor:

(1)

(A)The fiduciary has the right to access the property and any digital asset stored in it.

(B)

This subdivision does not require a custodian to share passwords or decrypt protected devices.

(2)

The fiduciary is an authorized user for purposes of any applicable computer-fraud and unauthorized-computer-access laws.

(f)

A custodian may disclose information in an account to a fiduciary of the user if the information is required to terminate an account used to access digital assets licensed to the user.

(g)

A fiduciary of a user, or an affiant acting under Section 13101 with respect to a deceased user, may request a custodian to terminate the user’s account. A request for termination shall be in writing, in either physical or electronic form, and accompanied by all of the following:

(1)

(A)If the user is deceased, a certified copy of the death certificate of the user.

(B)

If the user is a conservatee, a court order authorizing the conservator to request termination of the user’s account.

(2)

A certified copy of the letter of appointment of the representative, a small-estate affidavit under Section 13101, a court order, a power of attorney, a certified copy of the trust instrument, or a certification of the trust under Section 18100.5 giving the fiduciary authority over the account.

(3)

If requested by the custodian, any of the following:

(A)

A number, username, address, or other unique subscriber or account identifier assigned by the custodian to identify the user’s account.

(B)

Evidence linking the account to the user.

(C)

A finding by the court that the user had a specific account with the custodian, identifiable by the information specified in subparagraph (A).
Last Updated

May 12, 2025

§ 880’s source at ca​.gov